OF  THL 
U  N  IVLRSITY 
Of  ILLINOIS 

G30 
1870 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
AGRICULTlfllE  LIBRARY 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2015 


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NEW 


AMERICAN  FARM  BOOK. 


OEIGINALLY  BY 

K.  L.  ALLEN, 

AUTHOR  OF  "diseases  OF  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS,"  AND  FORMERLY  EDITOR  OP  THB 
"AMERICAN  AGRICULTURIST." 


REVISED  AND  ENLARGED  BY 

LEWIS  F.  ALLEN, 

AUTHOR  OF  "AMERICAN  CATTLE,"  EDITOR  OF  THE  "AMERICAN  SHORT  HORN 

HERD  BOOK,"  ETC. 


JS'EW  YOKK- 
ORANGE  JUDD  AND  COMPANY, 

345  BEOADWAY. 
1870. 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1869,  by 

ORANGE  JUDD  &  CO., 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern 

District  of  New  York. 


Warren,  Johnson  &  Co. 
Stereoiypers^  Printers  and  Bifiders, 
Buffalo,  N.  Y. 


^30 


This  work  was  originally  written  by  Eichaed  L. 
Allen,  then  one  of  the  editors  of  the  American 
Agriculturist."  It  was  published  in  the  year  1846,  the 
first  and  only  complete  work  of  kindred  character 
in  this  country,  down  to  that  time.  It  was  an  able 
compilation  of  valuable  matter,  some  portions  of  it 
then  existing  in  various  miscellaneous  publications  of 
the  day,  crystalized,  and  brought  into  available  shape, 
through  the  industry  of  its  experienced  author. 

The  volume — then  among  the  best  agricultural  books 
of  the  day,  and  upon  subjects  less  investigated  and 
studied  than  now — ^had  a  wide  circulation,  and  met 
with  general  approval  by  those  competent  to  judge  of 
the  topics  on  which  it  treated.  It  was  a  work  of 
ability,  of  laborious  research,  and  study;  but,  like 
similar  books  in  a  rapidly  progressive  age,  has  had  its 
day.  Twenty-three  years  is  a  long  time  for  any  book, 
treating  on  science,  and  improved  practice — particu- 
larly as  applied  to  agriculture— to  have  a  successfuJ. 


V 


4 


PREFACE. 


sale  and  still  meet  the  popular  demand,  on  a  great 
proportion  of  the  subjects  of  its  discussion. 

The  publishers,  aware  of  the  continuous  demand  for 
works  advancing  sound  views  *on  the  treatment  of  the 
varied  subjects  which  this  volume  embraces,  and  the 
original  author  being  engaged  in  pursuits  more  respon- 
sible, and  important  to  himself,  placed  it  in  the  hands 
of  the  undersigned  for  revision,  amendment  and  exten- 
sion, so  far  as  might  be  necessary.  Much  of  the  orig- 
inal matter,  incapable  of  improvement,  has  been  left  as 
originally  written.  New  discoveries,  and  subjects  not 
before  well  comprehended  have  been  added,  giving  the 
present  enlargement,  and  wider  compass  to  the  work. 

In  its  present  shape  it  comprises  all  that  can  well 
be  condensed  into  an  available  volume  of  its  kind. 
Nothing  in  fact,  short  of  an  Encyclopedia  of  Agriculture, 
would  embrace  m  full,  all  the  subjects,  in  the  various 
extended  ramifications  necessary  to  their  treatment. 
The  topics  are  therefore  discussed  in  a  manner  partly 
suggestive,  although  suflS.ciently  instructive  to  guide  the 
practical  farmer  in  the  treatment  of  the  various  matters 
embraced,  taking  a  fair  view  of  their  importance. 

The  prominent  value,  and  dignity  of  Agriculture  i& 
more  than  ever  appreciated  by  the  American  people. 
It  ranks  fairly  among  the  learned  professions.  Its  im- 
portance is  acknowledged  by  the  Nation  in  its  Con- 
gressional capacity  by  the  aids  it  has  extended  to  its 
improvement;  by  the  several  States  of  the  Union  in 


PREFACE.  5 

their  Legislative  encouragement ;  and  by  the  people  at 
large  through  the  increased  attention  they  bestow  on  its 
implements,  economies,  labors,  and  results.  The  public 
Press,  widely  potential  over  opinion  in  what  relates  to 
the  welfare  of  the  people,  exhibits  its  regard  for  the 
farmer  in  devoting  a  share  of  its  weekly  columns  to 
the  discussion  of  his  interests,  while  the  Agricultural 
Monthlies  and  Weeklies  of  the  day,  firmly  estab- 
lished in  their  indispensable  importance,  send  forth 
their  hundreds  of  thousands  of  copies  to  enlighten  the 
mass  of  our  population  in  this,  the  fundamental  source 
of  national  wealth,  prosperity,  and  greatness. 

Fifty  years  ago  a  stable  agricultural  periodical  did 
not  exist  on  the  American  continent.  Fitful  publica- 
tions now  and  then  glimmered  out  through  the  general 
darkness.  The  profession  of  the  Farmer  was  without 
official  recognition,  his  calling  laborious,  and  his  ele- 
vation to  the  higher  responsibilities  of  government, 
science,  literature,  professional  life,  and  art,  attainable 
only  with  great  difficulty,  chiefly  on  account  of  the 
hard-working  life  he  was  obliged  to  lead,  which  was 
the  principal  obstacle  to  his  attaining  a  fair  education. 
To-day  great  attention  is  given  to  agricultural  educa- 
tion, especially  to  such  as  will  both  fit  farmers  for 
their  especial  calling  and  for  taking  positions  of  the 
greatest  influence  in  society:  labor-saving  implements 
relieve  them  of  that  exhausting  bodily  labor  which  so 
unfits  man  for  intellectual  exertion,  and  throughout 


6 


PREFACE. 


our  land  every  avenue  to  social  and  political  distinc- 
tion is  as  fully  open  to  farmers  as  to  any  of  our  citi- 
zens. Besides,  when  our  great  men,  and  those  who 
have  been  successful  in  professional  or  mercantile  pur- 
suits, have  secured  a  competency,  or  amassed  fortunes, 
they  generally  retire  to  the  farm,  and  there,  as  practical 
workers,  or  indulging  in  amateur  fancies,  find  rest  and 
enjoyment.  Among  such  persons,  no  doubt  a  great 
number  of  the  readers  of  this  volume  will  be  lound. 
Their  needs  have  been  had  in  mind  by  the  editor 
while  writing  primarily  for  the  guidance  and  instruction 
of  the  professional  farmer,  who  has  constant  need  of  a 
book  of  reference. 

LEWIS  R  ALLEK 

Buffalo,  IST.  Y.,  1869. 


CONTENTS. 


INTEODUCTION. 

TiUage  Husbandry— Grazing— Feeding— Breeding— Horticulture— Planting,  etc.,  13 


CHAPTER  I. 

Soils— Their  Classification— Description— Management— Properties   21 

CHAPTER  II. 

Inorganic  Manures— Mineral— Stone— Earth— Phosphatic   41 

CHAPTER  III. 

Organic  Manures— Their  Composition— Animal— Vegetable   ...  65 

CHAPTER  lY. 

Irrigation  and  Draining    gO 

CHAPTER  Y. 

Mechanical  Division  of  Soils— Spading— Plowing— Implements   101 


8 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  YI. 

The  Grasses— Clovers— Meadows— Pastures— Comparative  Values  of  Grasses— Im 
plements  for  their  Cultivation   Ill 

CHAPTER  VII 

Grain,  and  its  Cultivation— Varieties— Growth— Harvesting   142 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Leguminous  Plants— The  Pea— Bean— English  Field  Bean— Tare  or  Vetch— Culti-  • 
vation— Harvesting   179 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Roots  and  Esculents — ^Varieties — Growth — Cultivation — Securing  the  Crops — ^Uses 
—Nutritive  Equivalents  of  Different  Kinds  of  Forage   185 


CHAPTER  X. 

Fruits— Apples— Cider— Vinegar— Pears — Quinces — Peaclies — Plums — Apricots — 
Nectarines— Smaller  Pruits—Plauting— Cultivation— Gathering-Preserving,  209 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Miscellaneous  Objects  of  Cultivation,  aside  from  the  Ordinary  Farm  Crops- 
Broom  Corn— Flax— Cotton— Hemp— Sugar  Cane  — Sorghum— Maple  Sugar— 
Tobacco— Indigo— Madder — ^Woad— Weld — Sumach — ^Teasel— Mustard — Hops  — 
Castor  Bean   242 


CHAPTER  XII. 

"  Aids  and  Objects  of  Agriculture — Rotation  of  Crops,  and  their  Effects — ^Weeds — 
Restoration  of  Worn-out  Soils— Fertilizing  Barren  Lands— Utility  of  Birds— 
Fences— Hedges— Farm  Roads— Shade  Trees— Wood  Lands— Time  of  Cutting 
Timber— Farming  Tools— Agricultural  Education  of  the  Farmer   297 


CONTENTS. 


9 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Farm  Buildings— House— Barn— Sheds— Cisterns— Various  other  Out-Buildings^ 
Steaming  Apparatus   332 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Domestic  Animals— Breeding— Anatomy— Eespiration— Consumption  of  Food..  344 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Neat  or  Horned  Cattle— Devons—Herefords—Ayreshires— Galloways— Short  Horns 
— Alderneys,  or  Jerseys— Dutch,  or  Holstein— Management  from  Birth  to 
Milking,  Labor,  or  Slaughter   363 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

The  Dairy— Milk— Butter— Cheese— Different  Kinds— Manner  of  Working   379 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Sheep— Merino— Saxon— South  Down— The  Long  Wooled  Breeds— Cotswold— Lin- 
coln— ^Breeding — ^Management — Shepherd  Dogs   398 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

The  Horse— Description  of  Different  Breeds— Their  Various  Uses— Breeding- 
Management   ,   444 

CHAPTER  S.IX. 

The  Ass— Mule— Comparative  Labor  of  Working  Animals   460 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Swine — Different    Bjreeds  —  Breeding — Rearing  —  Fattening  —  Curing  Pork  and 

Haras  476 

1  ^ 


10  CONTENTS. 


CH'APTER  XXI. 


Poultry— Hens,  or  Barn-Door  Fowls— Turkey— Peacock— Guinea  Hen— Goose — 
Duck— Honey  Bees   486 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Diseases  of  Animals— What  Authority  shall  we  Adopt  ?— Sheep— Swine— Treat- 
ment and  Breeding  of  Horses  


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Conclusion— General  Remarks— The  Farmer  who  Lives  by  his  Occupation— The 
Amateur  Farmer— Sundry  Useful  Tables  508 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


II^TEODUOTION^. 


Agriculture,  in  its  most  extensive  sense,  may  be  defined— the 
cultivation  of  the  earth  with  a  reference  to  the  production  of 
vegetables,  and  the  conversion  of  portions  of  them  into  animals 
and  a  variety  of  forms  which  are  the  best  adapted  to  the  wants 
of  mankind-  It  is  appropriately  distinguished  by  numerous  sub- 
divisions. 

Tillage  Huslandry  consists  in  the  raising  of  grain,  roots  and 
other  products,  which  require  the  extensive  use  of  the  plow  and 
harrow  to  prepare  the  ground  for  annual  sowing  and  planting. 

Grazing  is  limited  to  the  pasturing  and  winter  feeding  of  farm 
stock,  and  it  requires  that  the  land  appropriated  to  this  purpose, 
should  be  kept  in  pasturage  for  summer  food,  and  in  meadows  to 
yield  the  hay  necessary  for  winter's  use.  In  its  strictly  techni- 
cal meaning,  grazing  implies  the  rearing  of  farm  stock  till  they 
have  attained  sufficient  maturity  for  a  profitable  market,  as  far 
as  this  maturity  can  be  secured  on  grass  and  hay.  It,  however, 
properly  embraces  in  its  minor  divisions,  the  keeping  of  cows  for 
the  purposes  of  a  dairy,  and  the  support  of  flocks  for  the  pro- 
duction of  wool. 

Feeding,  in  its  agricultural  signification,  consists  in  stall  fatten- 
mg  animals,  and  it  is  properly  connected  with  tillage  husbandry, 
by  which  grain  and  roots  are  produced,  and  by  their  free  use, 
animals  can  be  brought  to  a  higher  condition  or  ripeness,  and 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

they  will  thus  command  a  much  better  price  in  market,  than 
if  fed  exclusively  on  grass  and  hay. 

Breeding,  technically  defined,  is  restricted  to  the  production 
of  choice  animals  for  use  as  future  propagators,  by  the  judicious 
selection  and  crossing  of  the  best  specimens  of  the  various 
distinct  breeds  of  domestic  stock. 

Horticulture  embraces  the  entire  department  of  gardening  and 
fruit  culture. 

Ahoriculture,  the  cultivation  of  trees  and  shrubbery. 

By  Planting,  (or  the  occupation  of  planters,)  is  understood 
the  cultivation  of  extensive  farms  or  plantations,  for  the  exclu- 
sive production  of  one  or  more  commercial  staples;  as  cotton, 
sugar,  rice,  tobacco,  indigo,  etc.,  and  their  preparation  for  a  dis- 
tant market.  The  term  is  peculiarly  sectional,  and  its  use,  so  far 
as  adopted  in  this  country,  is  hmited  to  the  Southern  part  of  it. 

The  foregoing,  and  various  other  occupations  connected  with 
the  cultivation  of  the  earth,  are  comprehended  under  the  general 
head  of  Agriculture. 

Besides  the  varied  practical  knowledge  which  is  indispensable 
to  the  proper  management  of  every  department  of  Agriculture, 
its  general  principles  and  theoretical  relations  require  a  famil- 
iarity with  the  elements  of  History,  Geology,  Meteorology, 
Entomology,  Zoology,  Chemistry,  Botany,  Anatomy,  Animal 
and  Vegetable  Physiology,  and  Mechanics,  involving  a  wide 
share  of  human  knowledge  and  science. 

In  view  of  its  intricacy,  its  magnitude,  and  its  importance  to 
the  human  race,  we  cannot  fail  to  be  struck  with  the  peculiar 
wisdom  of  Deity  in  assigning  to  man  this  occupation,  when  a  far 
seeing  and  vigorous  intellect  fitted  him  to  scan  with  unerring 
certainty  and  precision,  the  visible  works  of  his  Creator,  and 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

trace  their  causes  and  effects  through  all  their  varied  relations. 
It  was  while  in  the  sinless  perfection  of  his  original  nature,  when 
*'the  Lord  God  put  hina  into  the  garden  of  Eden,  to  dress  it  and 
to  keep  it,"  and  agriculture  was  his  sole  occupation,  that  his  god- 
like intelligence  enabled  him,  instinctively,  to  give  appropriate 
names,  indicative  of  their  true  nature  or  character,  "to  all  cattle, 
and  to  the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  to  every  beast  of  the  field;"  and 
so  just  and  accurate  was  his  perception,  that  "whatsoever  he 
called  every  living  creature,  that  was  the  name  thereof." 

In  our  present  Imperfect  condition,  a  beneficent  Providence 
has  not  reserved  a  moderate  success  in  Agriculture,  exclusively 
to  the  exercise  of  a  high  degree  of  intelligence.  His  laws  have 
been  so  kindly  framed,  that  the  hand  even  of  uninstructed  toil, 
may  receive  some  requital  in  remunerating  harvests ;  while  their 
utmost  fullness  can  be  anticipated,  only  where  corporeal  efforts 
are  directed  by  the  highest  intelligence. 

The  indispensable  necessity  of  an  advanced  agriculture  to  the 
comforts  and  wealth,  and  indeed,  to  the  very  existence  of  a  great 
nation,  renders  it  an  object  peculiarly  worthy  the  attention  and 
regard  of  the  legislative  power.  In  looking  to  the  history  both 
of  ancient  and  modern  times,  we  find,  that  wherever  a  people 
have  risen  to  enduring  eminence,  they  have  sedulously  encour- 
aged and  protected  this  right  arm  of  their  strength.  Examples 
need  not  be  given,  for  they  abound  in  every  page  of  their  civil 
polity.  ' 

Our  own  country  has  not  been  wanting  in  a  moderate  regard 
for  Agriculture.  By  wise  legislation  in  our  National  Congress, 
every  item  of  extensive  agricultural  production  within  the  United 
States,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  inferior  wools,  is  beheved  to 
be  now  protected  from  foreign  competition,  by  an  unyielding  and 


16 


INTRODUCTION. 


perfectly  adequate  impost  on  all  such  articles,  as  would  other- 
wise enter  into  a  successful  rivalry  with  them  from  abroad. 
Many  of  our  subordinate,  or  State  Legislatures  have  also,  by 
liberal  provisions,  given  such  encouragement  to  various  objects, 
as  they  deemed  necessary  to  develop  the  agricultural  resources 
within  their  jurisdiction.  Such  have  been  the  appropriations 
for  numerous  Geological  and  other  State  surveys;  the  bounties 
on  different  articles,  as  silk,  hemp,  and  some  others;  and  occa- 
sionally a  small  gratuity  to  encourage  th.e  formation  and  support 
of  State  and  County  Agricultural  Societies. 

The  organization  of  a  Department  of  Agriculture "  at 
Washington  a  few  years  ago,  by  our  National  Congress,  has 
been  a  step  in  the  right  direction  for  the  acceleration  of 
our  progress  in  all  that  appertains  to  this  indispensable 
branch  of  American  industry.  It  has  powers  and  means,  if 
efficiently  directed,  to  embrace  and  disseminate  throughout 
the  land  all  the  information  available  for  the  purposes  of  the 
husbandman. 

So  far  as  relates  to  obtaining  rare  and  valuable  plants  arid 
seeds,  and  other  agricultural  material,  from  every  quarter  of  the 
globe,  and  their  distribution  to  all  parts  of  the  country  suitable 
to  their  growth  and  production;  to  report  from  time  to  time 
the  statistics  of  crops,  their  cultivation  and  production,  compar- 
ative or  otherwise;  and  to  give  to  the  public  all  such  infor- 
mation as  may  be  in  its  power,  to  the  various  interests  of  the 
country,  either  commercial,  manufacturing,  or  agricultural,  which 
may  inure  to  their  benefit,  it  only  needs  a  wise  administration 
in  this  Department  to  confer  unbounded  benefits  on  the  agri- 
culture of  our  country.  This  was  a  favorite,  yet  never  a  fully 
digested  plan  of  Washington,  the  promptings  of  whose  bencv- 


INTKODUCTION.  17 

olent  and  comprehensive  mind  were  never  followed  but  for  his 
country's  good. 

Fjrom  wise  action  of  the  individual  States,  a  less  command- 
ing, but  not  less  beneficial  duty  is  required.  Eestrictions  wisely 
imposed  upon  the  General  Government,  limit  its  action  to  such 
measures  only  as  are  essential  to  the  general  welfare,  and  such 
as  cannot  properly  be  accomphshed  by  any  more  circumscribed 
authority.  More  liberal  and  enlarged  grants  from  the  people, 
as  their  well-tried  and  intelligently  ascertained  wants  may  be 
developed,  give  to  the  State  Legislatures  the  power  of  doing 
all  which  their  constituents  choose  to  have  effected  for  their 
own  benefit. 

Education,  in  all  its  branches,  is  under  their  exclusive  con- 
trol; and  to  endow  and  foster  every  institution  which  has  a 
tendency  to  raise  and  improve  the  intellectual,  the  moral  and 
the  social  condition  of  the  people,  has  ever  been  their  cherished 
pohcy.  Yet,  up  to  this  time,  no  institution  expressly  designed 
for  the  professional  education  of  farmers,  has  ever  been  perfected 
m  this  country.  That  far  seeing  wisdom  which  characterizes 
the  consummate  statesman,  which  regards  the  future  equally 
with  the  present  and  past,  has  at  last  culminated  in  a  most 
benificent  act  of  our  National  Congress,  by  a  liberal  provision 
m  the  donation  of  public  lands,  for  the  partial  endowment  of 
agricultural  schools  in  the*  several  States.  To  aid  with  every 
means  in  their  power  in  laying  the  foundations  broad  and  deep, 
to  elevate  the  superstructures,  to  rear  the  mighty  columns,  and 
adorn  the  graceful  capitals,  would  seem_  most  properly  to  come 
entirely  within  the  province  of  the  representatives  of  intelligent 
freemen,  the  great  business  of  whose  lives  is  the  practice  of 
agriculture. 


18  INTRODUCTION. 

In  addition  to  continuing  and  making  more  general  and 
comprehensive  the  encouragement  for  these  objects  heretofore 
considered,  it  is  the  duty  of  each  and  every  State  of  the  Union 
hberally  to  endow  and  organize  its  Agricultural  College,  and 
insure  its  successful  operation  within  its  jurisdiction.  Con- 
nected with  these  should  be  example  and  experimental  farms, 
where  the  suggestions  of  science  should  be  amply  tested  and 
carried  out  before  submitting  them  to  the  pubhc.  The  most 
competent  men  at  home  and  abroad  should  be  invited  to  fill  a 
professional  chair ;  and  if  money  would  temnt  the  most  accom 
phshed  professional  talent  to  leave  the  investigations  of  Euro- 
pean soils  and  products,  and  devote  their  minds  and  energies 
to  the  development  of  American  Husbandry,  it  should  be  freely 
given.  In  the  absence  of  the  latter,  we  must  seek  and  build 
them  up  from  native  growth. 

These  institutions  should  be  schools  for  the  teachers  equally 
with  the  taught;  and  their  liberally  appointed  laboratories  and 
collections  should  contain  every  available  means  for  the  discov- 
ery of  what  is  yet  hidden,  as  well  as  for  the  further  development 
of  what  is  already  partially  known.  Minor  institutions  should 
of  course  be  estabhshed  at  different  and  remote  points,  to 
scatter  the  elements  of  agricultural  knowledge  broadcast  over 
the  land,  and  bring  them  within  the  reach  of  the  poorest 
citizens  and  the  humblest  capacities. 

By  such  a  liberal  and  enlightened  course,  we  should  not  only 
incalculably  augment  the  productive  agricultural  energies  of  our 
own  country,  but  we  should  also  in  part  repay  to  the  world  at 
large  the  obligations  under  which  we  now  rest,  for  having  appro- 
priated  numerous  and  important  discoveries  and  improvements 
from  abroad.    If  we  have  the  ability,  which  none  can  doubt,  we 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

should  make  it  a  point  of  honor  to  return  m  kind,  the  liberal 
advances  we  have  thus  received. 

It  is  to  the  rising  generation  these  suggestions  are  made^  the 
risen  are  but  partially  prepared  for  their  acceptance.  A  great 
majority  of  the  latter  have  been  educated,  and  become  habituated 
to  different  and  more  partial  influences.  By  their  industry,  intel-. 
ligence,  and  energy  displayed  in  numberless  ways,  and  especially 
l)y  their  protection  of  American  labor,  they  have  accomphshed 
much  for  their  own  and  their  country^s  welfare — with  but 
partially  accomplished  efforts,  they  will  leave  this  glory  for 
their  successors. 


AMERICAN 


CHAPTER  1. 

SOILS. 

Soils  are  those  portions  of  the  earth's  surface  which  contain 
a  mixture  of  mineral  and  vegetable,  or  animal  substances,  in  such 
proportions  as  adapt  them  to  the  support  of  vegetation.  Rocks 
are  the  original  basis  of  all  soils,  which  by  the  convulsions  of 
nature,  or  the  less  violent  but  long  continued  and  equally  efficient 
action  of  air,  moisture  and  frost,  have  been  broken  into  fragments 
more  or  less  minute.  There  are  various  gradations  of  these 
changes. 

The  Texture  of  Soils. — Some  soils  embrace  large  bowlders 
or  rounded  stones,  that  thickly  overspread  the  surface  and  mingle 
themselves  with  the  earth  beneath  it,  giving  to  it  the  name  of  a 
rocky  soil.  The  equal  prevalence  of  the  same  materials,  but  of 
smaller  sizes,  give  to  the  surface  where  they  abound,  the  charac- 
ter of  a  stony  soil.  A  third  and  more  minute  division  is  called 
a  gravelly  soil;  a  fourth  is  a  sandy  soil;  a  fifth  constitutes  a 
loam;  and  a  sixth,  in  which  the  particles  of  earth  are  of  a  dif- 
ferent character,  is  popularly  denominated  a  clay  soil.  The 
two  first  mentioned,  are  not  properly  distinct  soils,  as  the  onJy 
support  of  any  profitable  vegetation  is  to  be  found  in  the  finer 
earth  in  which  the  rocks  and  stones  are  embedded.  In  frequent 
instances,  they  materially  benefit  the  crops,  in  the  influence  pro- 
duced by  the  warmth,  moisture,  and  protection  from  winds,  afforded 
by  them ;  and  by  the  gradual  decomposition  of  such  as  contain 


AGRICULTD 


llBRAl 


22 


AxMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


lime,  potash  and  other  fertihzing  materials,  they  contribute  to  the 
support  of  the  soil.  This  last  effect  is  aided  hy  the  apparently 
worthless  vegetable  life  which  they  yield  to  the  living  mosses 
that  cling  to  their  sides  and  everywhere  penetrate  their  fissures, 
thus  nnperceptibly  corroding  the  solid  structures  and  preparing 
them  for  future  usefulness  as  soils.  If  we  add  to  the  above,  a 
peat  or  a  vegetable  soil,  we  shall  have  the  material  divisions  of 
soils,  as  distinguished  by  their  texture. 

Other  Classification  of  Soils* — Soils  are  also  distin- 
guished by  their  tendency  to  absorb  and  retain  water,  gravel  and 
sand  holding  very  little,  while  clay  and  peat  readily  absorb  and 
retain  a  great  deal;  by  their  constant  saturation  from  perennial 
springs,  which  are  called  springy  soils ;  by  the  quantity  of  vege- 
table and  animal  matter  they  contain;  by  their  porosity  or 
adhesiveness ;  by  their  chemical  character,  whether  silicious,  argil- 
laceous or  calcareous;  by  the  quality  and  nature  of  the  vegetation 
they  sustain ;  and  lastly,  and  by  far  the  most  important,  they  are 
distinguished  by  their  fertility  or  barrenness,  the  result  of  the 
proper  adjustment  and  combination  of  most  of  the  conditions 
enumerated.  Deserts  of  sands,  layers  of  rocks,  stone  or  pure 
gravel,  and  beds  of  marl  and  peat,  are  not  soils,  though  contain- 
ing many  of  their  most  important  elements. 

It  is  apparent  to  the  most  casual  observer,  that  soils  frequently, 
and  by  almost  imperceptible  degrees,  change  from  ane  character 
to  another,  and  that  no  classification  therefore,  however  minute, 
will  suffice  to  distinguish  each.  Some  obvious,  yet  simple  dis- 
tinctions, which  are  usually  recognized,  must  nevertheless  be 
assumed  for  future  reference.  For  this  purpose,  and  to  avoid 
unnecessary  deviations  from  what  should  be  a  common  standard, 
*ve  shall  adopt  the  arrangements  as  made  by  Professor  Johnston, 
<vhich  is  based  principally  upon  their  chemical  constituents. 

^^Ist,  Pure  clay  (pipe-clay,)  consisting  of  about  60  of  silica 
and  40  of  alumina  and  oxide  of  iron,  for  the  most  part  chemically 
combined.  It  allows  no  sihcious  sand  to  subside  when  diffused 
through  water,  and  rarely  forms  any  extent  of  soil. 


SOILS. 


23 


**2d.  Strongest  clay  soil  (tile-claj,  unctuous  clay)  consists  of 
pure  clay  mixed  with  5  to  15  per  cent,  of  a  silicious  sand,  which 
can  be  separated  from  it  by  boiling  and  decantation. 

"3d.  Clay  loam  differs  from  a  clay  soil,  in  allowing  from  15  to 
30  per  cent,  of  fine  sand  to  be  separated  from  it  by  washing,  as 
above  described.  By  this  admixture  of  sand,  its  parts  are 
mechanically  separated,  and  hence  its  freer  and  more  friable 
nature. 

"4th.  A  loamy  soil  deposits  from  30  to  60  per  cent,  of  sand  by 
mechanical  washing. 

"5th.  A  sandy  loam  leaves  from  60  to  90  per  cent,  of  sand, 
and 

"6th.  A  sandy  soil  contains  no  more  than  10  per  cent,  of  pure 
clay. 

"  The  mode  of  examining,  with  the  view  of  naming  soils,  as 
above,  is  very  simple.  It  is  only  necessary  to  spread  a  weighed 
quantity  of  the  soil  in  a  thin  layer  upon  writing  paper,  and,  to 
dry  it  for  an  hour  or  two  in  an  oven  or  upon  a  hot  plate,  the  heat 
of  which  is  not  ,  sufficient  to  discolor  the  paper — the  loss  of  weight 
gives  the  water  it  contained.  "While  this  is  drying,  a  second 
weighed  portion  may  be  boiled  or  otherwise  thoroughly  incorpo- 
rated with  water,  and  the  whole  then  poured  into  a  vessel,  in 
which  the  heavy  sandy  parts  are  allowed  to  subside  until  the  fine 
clay  is  beginning  to  settle  also.  This  point  must  be  carefully 
watched,  the  liquid  then  poured  off,  the  sand  collected,  dried  as 
before  upon  paper,  aud  again  weighed.  This  weight  is  the  quan- 
tity of  sand  in  the  known  weight  of  moist  soil,  which  by  the 
previous  experiment  has  been  found  to  contain  a  certain  quantity 
of  water. 

"Thus,  suppose  two  portions,  each  200  grs.,  are  weighed,  and 
the  one  in  the  oven  loses  50  grs.  of  water,  and  the  other  leaves 
60  grs.  of  sand, — then,  the  200  grs.  of  moist  are  equal  to  150 
of  dry^  and  this  150  of  dry  soil  contain  60  of  sand,  or  40  in  100 
(40  per  cent.)  It  would,  therefore,  be  properly  called  a  loam,^  or 
loamy  soil. 


24 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


''But  the  above  classification  has  reference  only  to  the  clay 
and  sand,  while  we  know  that  lime  is  an  important  constituent 
of  soils,  of  which  they  are  seldom  entirely  destitute.  "We  have, 
therefore, 

1th,  Marly  soils,  in  which  the  proportion  of  lime  is  more  than 
5  but  does  not  exceed  20  per  cent,  of  the  whole  weight  of  the 
dry  soil.  The  marl  is  a  sandy,  loamy,  or  clay  marl,  according  as 
the  proportion  of  clay  it  contains  would  place  it  under  the  one  or 
the  other  denomination,  supposing  it  to  be  entirely  free  from  lime, 
or  not  to  contain  more  than  5  per  cent.,  and 

8th.  Calcareous  soils,  in  which  the  lime  exceeding  20  per 
cent,  becomes  the  distinguishing  constituent.  These  are  also  cal- 
careous clays,  calcareous  loams,  or  calcareous  sand,  according  to 
the  proportion  of  clay  and  sand  which  are  present  in  them. 

"The  determination  of  the  hme  also,  when  it  exceeds  5  per 
cent.,  is  attended  with  no  difficulty. 

"To  100  grs.  of  the  dry  soil  diffused  through  half  a  pint  of 
cold  water,  add  half  a  wine  glassful  of  muriatic  acid,  (the  spirit 
of  salt  of  the  shops,)  stir  it  occasionally  during  the  day,  and  let 
it  stand  over  night  to  settle.  Pour  off  the  clear  liquor  in  the 
morning  and  fill  up  the  vessel  with  water,  to  wash  away  the 
excess  of  acid.  When  the  water  is  again  clear,  pour  it  off,  dry 
the  soil  and  weigh  it — the  loss  will  amount  generally  to  about 
one  per  cent,  more  than  the  quantity  of  lime  present.  The 
result  will  be  sufficiently  near,  however,  for  the  purposes  of  clas- 
sification. If  the  loss  exceed  5  grs.  from  100  of  the  dry  soil,  it 
may  be  classed  among  the  marls;  if  more  than  20  grs.,  among  the 
calcareous  soils. 

"Lastly,  vegetable  matter  is  sometimes  the  characteristic  of  a 
soil,  which  gives  rise  to  a  further  division  of 

"  9th.  Vegetable  molds^  which  are  of  various  kinds,  from  the 
garden  mold,  which  contains  from  5  to  10  percent.,  to  the  peaty 
soil,  in  which  the  organic  matter  may  amount  to  60»or  70.  These 
soils  also  are  clayey,  loamy,  or  sandy,  according  to  the  predomi- 
nant character  of  the  earthy  admixtures. 


SOILS. 


25 


"The  method  of  determining  the  amount  of  vegetable  matter 
for  the  purposes  of  classification,  is  to  dry  the  soil  well  in  an 
oven,  and  weigh  it;  then  to  heat  it  to  dull  redness  over  a  lamp 
or  a  bright  fire  till  the  combustible  matter  is  burned  away.  The 
loss  on  again  weighing  is  the  quantity  of  organic  matter." 

The  foregoing  are  only  such  general  divisions  as  possess  prop- 
erties sufficiently  common  to  each,  to  require  a  treatment  nearly 
similar.  Besides  their  principal  component  parts,  every  soil  must 
contain  in  greater  or  less  quantities,  all  the  elements  which  enter 
into  the  composition  of  vegetables.  They  may  have  certain  sub- 
stances which  are  not  necessary  to  vegetable  hfe,  and  some  one 
or  all  of  such  as  are,  may  be  contained  in  excess;  yet  to  sustain 
a  healthy  proline  vegetation,  they  must  hold,  and  in  a  form  fitted 
to  its  support,  silex,  alumina,  carbonate  of  lime,  sulphate  of  lime, 
potash,  soda,  magnesia,  sulphur,  phosphorus,  manganese,  oxide 
of  iron,  chlorine,  and  probably  iodine.  These  are  called  the  inor- 
ganic,  or  earthy  parts  of  soils,  as  they  are  almost  exclusively 
found  in  com.bination  with  earths,  salts,  or  minerals.  They, 
however,  constitute  from  less  than  0.5  (one-half  of  one)  to  over 
10  per  cent,  of  all  vegetables.  In  addition  to  these,  fertile  soils 
must  also  contain  carbon,  oxygen,  nitrogen  and  hydrogen,  which 
are  called  the  organic  parts  of  soils,  from  their  great  preponder- 
ance in  vegetables  and  animals,  of  which  they  constitute  from 
about  90,  to  over  99  per  cent,  of  their  entire  substance. 

Clay  Soils — Their  Characteristics  and  Treatment.— 
Clay  soils  are  usually  denominated  cold  and  wet,  from  their  strong 
affinity  to  water,  which  they  generally  hold  in  too  great  excess 
for  rapid  or  luxuriant  vegetation.  The  alumina  which  exists  in 
clay,  not  only  combines  with  water,  forming  a  chemical  com- 
pound,  but  the  minute  division  of  its  particles  and  their  conse- 
quent compactness,  oppose  serious  obstacles  to  the  escape  of  such 
as  rests  in  or  upon  it.  Hence  the  necessity  of  placing  it  in  a 
condition  to  obviate  these  essential  defects. 

The  most  effectual  method  of  disposing  of  the  surplus  water 
in  clay  soils,  is  by  utiderdraining.    This  draws  off  rapidly,  yet  by 


26 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


imperceptible  degrees,  all  tlie  excess  of  water,  and  opens  it  to 
the  free  admission  of  atmospheric  air;  and  this,  in  its  passage 
through  the  soil,  imparts  heat  and  such  of  the  gases  it  contains, 
as  are  useful  in  sustaining  vegetation.  "When  under-drains  are 
wanting,  open  drains  should  be  formed  wherever  water  stands 
after  rains;  the  slight  elevation  and  depression  of  the  surface 
made  by  careful  plowing,  will  probably  be  sufficient,  if  they  ter- 
minate in  some  ravine  or  artificial  ditch,  and  l^ave  size  and 
dechvity  enough  to  pass  off  the  water  rapidly.  ^ 

Clay  soils  are  greatly  improved  by  coarse  vegetable  manures, 
straw,'  corn  stalks,  chips,  etc.,  which  tend  to  the  separation  of  its 
particles.    The  addition  of  sand  is  very  beneficial,  but  this  is  too 
expensive  for  large  fields.    Lime  is  also  a  valuably  material  for  a 
clay  soil,  as  by  the  chemical  combinations  which  are  thereby 
induced,  the  extreme  tenacity  of  the  soil  is  broken  up,  while  the 
lime  adds  an  ingredient  of  fertihty,  not  before  possessed  by  it 
perhaps,  to  an  adequate  extent.    Gypsum  has  the  same  effect  in 
a  more  powerful  degree.    Paring  and  burning  (by  which  the 
surface  containing  vegetable  matter  is  collected  into  heaps  and 
fired,  reducing  the  mass  to  a  charred  heap,  which  is  again  spread 
over  and  mixed  with  the  soil,)  produced  the  same  result.  This 
is  a  practice  which  has  been  long  in  use  in  different  parts  of 
Europe,  and  although  attended  with  immediate  and  powerful 
results,  it  is  too  expensive  for  general  introduction  into  a  country 
where  labor  is  high,  and  land  and  its  products  comparatively 
cheap. 

The  plowing  of  clay  lands  for  spring  crops  should  be  done  in 
the  autumn  if  practicable,  by  which  their  adhesiveness  is  tempo- 
rarily destroyed,  the  earth  is  finely  pulverized  by  the  frost,  and 
they  are  left  in  the  finest  condition  for  early  spring  sowing,  and 
without  additional  working.  If  plowed  in  the  spring,  it  should 
be  done  when  they  are  neither  too  wet  or  dry ;  if  the  former,  the 
earth  subsequently  bakes,  and  for  a  long  time  it  is  almost  impen- 
etrable to  the  hoe  or  the  teeth  of  the  harrow;  if  too  dry,  they 
are  so  compact  as  to  be  turned  over  only  with  great  effort,  and 


SOILS. 


27 


tben  in  solid  lumps.  The  action  of  the  atmosphere  will  pulver- 
ize these  masses  of  baked  earth  after  a  time,  but  not  sufficiently 
early  for  the  convenience  or  advantage  of  such  crops  as  are 
intended  immediately  to  follow  the  plowing. 

No  soils  are  so  tenacious  of  the  manures  which  may  be  incor- 
porated with  them  as  the  clays.  They  form  an  intimate  combi- 
nation, both  mechanical  and  chemical,*  and  hold  them  securely 
against  waste  from  drainage  or  evaporation  for  an  indefinite  time, 
till  the  growing  crops  demand  them.  They  also  greedily  seize 
upon  and  hoard  up  all  such  fertihzing  principles  as  are  conveyed 
to  them  by  the  air  and  rains.  We  may  mention  as  an  example 
of  their  efficiency  in  abstracting  vegetable  nutrition  from  the 
atmosphere,  that  many  of  them  when  thrown  up  from  a  great 
depth  below  the  surface,  and  entirely  destitute  of  organic  remains, 
(vegetable  or  animal  matter,)  after  an  exposure  for  some  months 
to  its  mehorating  influence,  become  capable  of  bearing  large 
crops  without  the  aid  of  manure.  This  is  particularly  true  of  the 
clays  which  rest  on  the  Onondaga  limestone,  an  extensive  group 
occupying  the  central  and  north-western  part  of  New  York. 

The  clays  are  admirably  adapted  to  the  production  of  most  of 
the  grains  and  of  the  red  and  white  clovers  cultivated  in  the  United 
States.  These  they  yield  in  great  profusion,  and  of  the  best 
quality;  and  so  peculiarly  suited  are  they  to  meadoAvs  and  pas- 

*  By  mechanical^  in  the  sense  above  used,  is  understood  the  external  relation  of 
bodies,  which  is  nearly  equivalent  in  its  meaning  in  this  connection,  to  artificial. 
Thus  the  clay  envelops  the  manures,  and  from  its  impervious  nature,  it  shields  it 
from  escape  either  by  drainage  or  evaporation,  and  almost  as  effectually  as  if  it  were 
enclosed  in  an  earthen  vessel. 

By  chemical^  is  meant  its  internal  or  constitutional  character.  Thus  clay  not  only 
absorbs  the  gases  which  are  brought  into  contact  with  it  from  manures,  from  moist- 
ure, and  from  air,  as  a  sponge  absorbs  water,  but  it  also  forms  new  combinations 
with  them,  which  change  the  original  nature  of  these  elementary  principles,  and 
from  light  evanescent  gases,  they  become  component  parts  of  solid  bodies,  in  which 
condition  they  are  retained  till  exhausted  by  the  growing  vegetation. 

These  terms  are  important,  and  should  be  clearly  understood.  For  the  sake  of  aid- 
ing the  young  student,  we  will  give  some  further  examples.  If  we  take  a  piece  of 
crystalized  marble,  compact  uncrystalized  limestone,  and  chalk,  we  shall  have  three 
substances  exactly  alike  in  their  chemical  character ;  for  they  are  all  combinations 
of  carbonic  acid  and  lime  associated  together  in  precisely  the  same  proportions.  But 


28 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


turage,  that  they  are  styled  by  way  of  eminence,  grass  lands. 
They  are  justly  characterised  as  strong  and  lasting  soils,  and 
when  properly  managed  and  put  to  their  appropriate  use,  they 
are  esteemed  as  among  the  choicest  of  the  farmer's  acres. 

Sandy  Soils  and  their  Management. — The  character  and 
treatment  of  sandy  soils,  are  in  almost  every  particular  the 
reverse  of  those  of  clay.  They  do  not  possess  the  property  of 
adhesiyeness,  and  they  have  but  Httle  affinity  for  water,  which 
escapes  from  them  almost  as  soon  as  it  falls.  They  have  but  a 
shght  hold  upon  the  manures  which  are  diffused  through  them  ; 
they  are  loose  in  their  texture,  and  may  be  plowed  at  any  time 
with  equal  advantage,  provided  the  sowing  or  planting  is  to  fol- 
low immediately. 

As  clay  soils  are  much  benefitted  by  a  mixture  of  sand,  so 
likewise  are  sandy  soils  greatly  improved  by  the  addition  of  clay, 
yet  in  a  much  higher  degree ;  for  though  it  would  never  pay,  as  a 
general  rule,  to  add  sand  to  clay,  yet  the  addition  of  a  few  loads  of 
the  stiffesc  clay  to  alight  sand,  would  in  almost  every  instance  much 
more  than  compensate  for  the  trouble  and  expense.  For  this 
purpose,  the  clay  should  be  thinly  spread  in  autumn  upon  sward 
land  previously  plowed,  and  the  winter's  frost  will  effectually 
separate  the  particles.  It  should  then  be  harrowed  thoroughly 
and  deeply  in  the  spring,  and  subsequently  plowed  if  necessary. 

in  their  external  arrangements,  as  they  appear  in  a  recent  fracture  to  the  eye  and 
touch,  that  is,  in  their  mechanical  arrangements,  they  are  all  totally  dissimilar. 

Again,  if  we  take  the  pure  lime  (quick  lime)  that  is  obtained  from  each  of  the  fore- 
going by  subjecting  them  to  an  intense  heat,  by  which  the  carbonic  acid  is  expelled, 
and  pour  upon  it  nearly  one-third  of  its  weight  in  water,  great  heat  is  developed  and 
the  lime  both  mechanically  absorbs,  and  chemically  combines  with  it,  forming  a  new 
compound,  or  salt,  which  is  a  hydrate  of  lime. 

If  sand  (mostly  silex)  be  added  to  the  lime  with  water,  and  mechanically  mixed  or 
stirred  together  and  allowed  to  remain  for  a  sufficient  time,  they  will  combine  chemi- 
cally, forming  a  portion  of  silicate  of  lime,  (an  ingredient  of  old  mortars.) 

Sand  (silex)  stirred  in  with  clay,  (an  impure  alumina)  is  mechanically  mixed ;  if 
then  subject  to  a  strong  heat  as  in  making  brick,  they  become  chemically  united, 
forming  silicate  of  alumina,  inseparable  by  any  human  means  short  of  the  chemist's 
crucible.  If  we  divide  or  separate  a  stick  by  splitting  or  cutting,  it  is  a  mechanical ; 
and  if  by  burning  or  charring,  it  is  a  chemical  change.  Thus  every  alteration,  either 
in  nature  or  art,  is  referable  to  one  of  the  above  conditions  or  changes. 


SOILS. 


29 


Such  a  dressing  on  a  light,  crawhng  land,  is  more  than  equivalent 
to  an  equal  quantity  of  the  best  manure,  and  will  be  permanent 
in  its  effects.  Clay  and  sand  are  necessary  to  each  other,  as  they 
both  contain  qualities  which  are  essential  to  a  good  soil;  and 
that  will  always  be  found  the  best,  which  has  the  proper  propor- 
tion of  each. 

Sandy  soils  are  improved  by  the  frequent  use  of  a  heavy  roller ; 
it  cannot  be  used  too  often.  They  require  to  be  made  more  com- 
pact, and  any  treatment  that  secures  this  object,  will  be  advan- 
tageou.s. 

Lime,  by  its  chemical  action  on  the  constituents  of  soils,  while 
it  separates  clay,  renders  sand  more  adhesive ;  and  when  cheaply 
obtained,  it  is  always  a  profitable  dressing  for  sandy  soils,  to  the 
full  amount  they  may  require.  Gypsum,  in  considerable  quanti- 
ties, has  an  effect  similar  to  lime,  both  on  clay  and  sand ;  and 
when  added  in  smaller  portions,  produces  £  striking  increase  in 
the  crops  of  sandy  soils.  Clay  marls,  containing  either  carbon 
ate,  sulphate,  or  phospate  of  lime,  are  of  great  value  to  sandy 
soils.  Equally  beneficial  are  ashes,  leached  or  unleached,  peat, 
or  vegetable  manures  of  any  kind.  Some  calcareous  sands,  con- 
taining a  large  proportion  of  lime,  like  those  of  Egypt  and  exten- 
sive regions  in  the  Barbary  States,  will  produce  luxuriantly,  if 
supplied  with  a  slight  addition  of  manure  and  an  abundance  of 
water.  Sandy  soils  can  never  be  profitably  cultivated  till  they 
have  acquired  sufficient  compactness  and  fertility  to  sustain  a 
good  growth  of  grass  or  clover;  and  when  once  brought  to  this 
condition,  they  are  among  the  most  valuable. 

They  are  at  all  times  easily  plowed  and  worked ;  they  require 
no  draining ;  and  though  light  and  dry,  are  quick  and  kindly  soils, 
giving  an  immediate  and  full  return  for  the  labor  and  manure 
bestowed  upon  them.  When  in  a  condition  to  produce  grass, 
sheep  are  admirably  adapted  to  preserve  and  augment  their  fer- 
tility, and  by  their  incessant  migrations  over  it,  their  sharp  hoofs 
pack  the  surface  closely,  producing  the  same  effect  as  the  roller. 

Gravelly  Soils,  are  in  some  respects  similar  to  sand,  but 
much  less  desirable,  being  appropriately  termed  hungry.  They 


30 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


are  also  like  the  latter,  peculiarly  leachj,  but  in  an  increased 
degree,  permitting  the  rapid  escape  of  manures,  both  by  evapora- 
tion and  drainage.  Such  as  are  calcareous  or  composed  of  lime- 
stone pebbles,  are  in  a  great  measure  not  subject  to  those  objec- 
tions ;  as  the  disposing  affinities  of  the  lime  (of  which  enough 
will  be  found  to  exist  in  the  soil  in  a  finely  comminuted  or 
divided  state,  which  in  this  condition  is  enabled  to  act  efficiently,) 
have  a  tendency  to  retain  the  vegetable  matters,  thus  compacting 
the  soil,  and  holding  whatever  pabulum,  or  food  of  plants,  may 
from  time  to  time  be  given  to  it  for  the  wants  of  future  crops. 
Unless  of  this  latter  description,  gravelly  soils  should  not  be 
subjected  to  tillage;  but  appropriated  to  pasturage,  when  sheep 
will  keep  them  in  the  best  and  most  profitable  condition  of  which 
they  are  capable. 

Loamy  Soils,  being  intermediate  between  clay  and  sand,  pos- 
sess characteristics  8,nd  require  a  treatment  approximating  to  one 
or  the  other,  according  to  the  predominance  of  either  quality. 
They  are  among  the  most  desirable  soils  for  the  various  purposes 
of  agriculture. 

Marly  and  Calcareous  Soils,  have  always  a  full  supply 
of  hme,  and  like  the  loams,  they  frequently  incline  towards  a  clay 
or  sand,  requiring  a  treatment  corresponding  to  their  character. 
Putrescent  and  vegetable  manures  increase  their  fertility,  and 
they  are  held  with  great  tenacity  till  exhausted  by  crops.  In 
durabihty  or  lastingness  they  cannot  be  exceeded. 

Alluvial  Soils,  are  such  as  have  been  formed  from  the 
washing  of  streams.  They  vary  in  their  characteristics,  from  a 
mixed  clay  to  an  almost  pure  sand ;  but  generally  they  combine 
the  components  of  soils  in  such  proportions  as  are  designated  by 
loamy  soils  or  sandy  loams.  When  thus  formed  they  are  exceed- 
ingly fertile,  and  if  subject  to  the  annual  overflow  of  a  stream, 
having  its  sources  far  above  them,  they  usually  receive  such  an 
addition  to  their  productiveness,  as  enables  them  to  yield  large 
crops  perpetually  without  further  manuring. 

They  are  for  the  most  part  easily  worked,  and  are  suited  to 
t'  e  various  purposes  of  tillage  and  meadows;  but  when  exposed 


SOILS. 


31 


to  overflowing,  it  is  safer  to  keep  them  in  grass,  as  this  crop  is 
less  liable  to  injury  hj  a  freshet;  and  where  subject  to  washing 
from  the  same  cause,  a  well  matted  sod  is  the  best  protection 
which  can  be  offered  against  it.  Many  of  the  natural  grasses 
which  come  into  these  meadows  yield  a  fodder  of  the  highest 
value. 

Peaty  Soils,  are  composed  almost  wholly  of  peat,  and  are 
frequently  called  vegetable  soils.  They  are  extensively  diffused 
between  the  latitudes  of  42°  and  60°  north,  at  a  level  with  the  - 
ocean,  and  are  frequently  found  in  much  lower  latitudes,  when 
the  elevation  of  the  surface  produces  a  corresponding  tempera- 
ture. They  generally  occupy  low,  swampy  levels,  but  sometimes 
exist  on  shght  northern  declivities,  where  the  water  in  its  descent 
is  arrested  by  a  succession  of  basin  shaped  cavities. 

Their  peaty  character  is  acquired  by  the  growth  and  partial 
decay  through  successive  ages,  of  various  aquatic  plants,  the 
principal  being  the  sphagnums  and  Hchens.  In  swamps,  many 
of  which  were  probably  small  lakes  in  their  origin,  the  peat  is 
found  of  unknown  depth,  reaching  in  some  instances  beyond  thirty 
and  forty  feet.  On  declivities  and  occasional  levels,  the  peat  is 
sometimes  only  a  few  inches  in  thickness.  It  is  of  a  blackish  or 
dark  brown  color,  and  exists  in  various  stages  of  decay,  from  the 
almost  perfect  state  of  fallen  stumps  and  leaves,  to  an  imperfectly 
defined,  ligneous  mass,  or  even  an  impalpable  powder. 

In  its  natural  state,  it  is  totally  unfit  for  any  profitable  vegeta- 
tion, being  saturated  with  water  of  an  antiseptic  nature,  which 
effectually  resists  putrefaction  or  decay.  When  thrown  out  of  its 
native  bed  and  exposed  to  drain  for  a  few  months,  much  of  it  is 
fit  for  fuel ;  and  it  is  always  of  advantage  to  the  muck  heaps,  as 
an  absorbent  of  the  hquid  and  gaseous  portions  of  animal  and 
other  volatile  manures;  or  it  is  of  great  utility  when  applied 
alone  to  a  dry,  gravelly  or  sandy  soil. 

Cultivation  of  Peat  Soils. — ^When  it  is  desirable  to  cultivate  a 
peat  soil,  the  first  process  is  to  drain  it  effectually  of  all  the  moist- 
ure which  has  given  to  it,  and  sustained,  its  present  character. 


32 


« 

AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


The  drains  must  be  made  sufficiently  near,  and  on  every  side  of 
it ;  and  so  deep  as  to  prevent  any  injurious  capillary  attraction 
of  the  water  to  the  surface.  "When  it  has  been  properly  drained, 
the  hummocks,  if  any,  must  be  cut  up  with  the  mattock  or  spade 
and  thrown  into  heaps,  and  burnt  after  they  are  sufficiently  dried, 
and  the  ashes  scattered  over  the  surface.  These  afford  the  best 
top  dressing  it  can  receive.  Sand  or  fine  gravel,  with  a  thorough 
dressing  of  barn-yard  manure  and  effete  lime,  should  then  be 
added.  On  some  of  these,  according  as  their  composition 
approaches  to  ordinary  soils,  good  crops  of  oats,  corn,  roots,  etc., 
may  be  grown,  but  they  are  better  suited  to  meadows,  and  when 
thus  prepared,  they  will  yield  great  burthens  of  clover,  timothy, 
red  top,  and  such  of  the  other  grasses  as  are  adapted  to  moist 
soils.  Subsequent  dressings  of  sand,  lime,  manure,  and  wood 
ashes,  or  of  all  combined,  may  be  afterwards  required  when  the 
crops  are  deficient,  or  the  grasses  degenerate. 

Peat  contains  a  large  proportion  of  carbon,  and  the  silicates  in 
which  such  soils  are  deficient,  and  which  they  procure  only  in 
small  proportions  from  the  farm-yard  manures,  but  more  largely 
from  the  sand  or  gravel,  are  essential  to  furnish  an  adequate  coat- 
ing for  cornstalks,  straw  and  the  valuable  grasses.  As  they  are 
exhausted  they  must  be  again  supplied,  or  the  crops  will  fail. 
Besides  yielding  an  important  food  to  the  crop,  lime  is  essential 
to  produce  decomposition  in  the  mass  of  vegetable  matter,  as  well 
as  to  combine  with  and  aid  in  furnishing  to  the  growing  plants, 
such  of  their  food  as  the  atmosphere  contains.  Ashes  are  one 
of  the  best  applications,  as  they  possess  the  silicates,  lime,  pot- 
ash, and  other  inorganic  materials  of  plants  in  great  abundance, 
and  in  a  form  readily  adapted  to  vegetable  nutrition.  Gypsum 
is  also  a  valuable  manure  for  peaty  soils. 

SUBSOILS  AND  THEIR  MANAGEMENT 

The  efficiency  of  soils  for  producing  good  crops,  depends  much 
on  the  subsoil.  If  this  consists  of  impervious  clay  or  hard-pan, 
so  as  to  oppose  a  ready  escape  to  the  water,  it  is  evident  the 


SOILS. 


33 


accumulation  of  tlie  heavy  rains  will  materially  injure  the  vegeta- 
tion above  them ;  for  it  is  certain  that  while  nothing  is  more 
essential  to  productive  crops  than  an  adequate  supply  of  moisture 
to  the  roots,  nothing  is  more  injurious  than  their  immersion  in 
stagnant  water.  When  such  is  the  character  of  the  subsoil,  it 
should  be  under-drained  if  possible,  or  if  this  be  not  practicable, 
it  should  be  broken  and  loosened  by  the  use  of  the  subsoil  plow. 

A  variety  of  plows  have  been  constructed  for  this  purpose,  but 
unless  it  be  intended  to  deepen  the  soil  by  an  admixture  of  ma- 
nures, care  should  be  taken  to  avoid  bringing  up  the  subsoil  to 
mix  with  that  on  the  surface.  In  addition  to  the  more  ready 
escape  of  water  thus  secured  by  breaking  it  up,  the  air  is  also 
admitted,  which  enables  the  roots  to  strike  deeper,  and  draw  their 
nourishment  from  a  much  greater  depth.  The  increased  distance 
through  which  the  roots  penetrate,  furnishes  them  with  additional 
moisture  during  a  season  of  drought,  thereby  securing  a  luxuriant 
crop  when  it  might  otherwise  be  destroyed.  This  is  frequently  a 
great  item  in  the  profit  of  a  farmer ;  as  besides  the  increase  of 
crop  which  follows  a  dry  hot  season  when  a  full  supply  of  moisture 
is  furnished,  the  product  is  usually  of  better  quality;  and  the 
general  deficiency  of  agricultural  produce  which  ensues  from 
seasons  of  drought,  makes  his  own  more  valuable. 

As  a  result  of  this  practice,  there  is  also  a  gradual  increase  in 
the  depth  of  the  soil,  as  the  fine  and  more  soluble  particles  of  the 
richer  materials  above  are  constantly  working  down  and  enriching 
the  loosened  earth  below;  and  in  time  this  becomes  good  soil, 
which  in  proportion  to  its  depth,  increases  the  area  from  which 
the  roots  derive  their  nutriment.  So  manifest  are  the  advantages 
which  have  followed  the  use  of  subsoil  plows,  that  they  have  been 
extensively  introduced  of  late  years  among  the  indispensable  tools 
of  the  better  class  of  agriculturists. 

"When  the  subsoil  is  loose  and  leachy,  consisting  of  an  excess 
of  sand  or  gravel,  thereby  allowing  the  too  ready  escape  of  moisture 
and  the  soluble  portions  of  manures,  the  subsoil  plow  is  not  only 
unnecessary,  but  positively  injurious.  In  this  case,  the  surface  soil 
should  be  somewhat  deepened  by  the  addition  of  vegetable  ma- 


34 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


nures,  so  as  to  afford  a  greater  depth,  through  which  they  must 
settle  before  thej  can  get  beyond  the  reach  of  the  roots ;  and  the 
supply  of  moisture  is  thereby  much  augmented.  It  is  better 
however,  to  keep  lands  of  this  character  in  wood,  or  permanent 
pasture.  They  are  at  best,  ungrateful  soils,  and  make  a  poor 
return  for  the  labor  and  manure  bestowed  upon  them. 

If  there  be  a  diversity  in  the  character  of  the  sub  and  surface 
soil — one  being  inclined  to  sand  and  gravel,  and  the  other  to  marl 
or  clay — a  great  improvement  will  be  secured  by  allowing  the  plow 
to  reach  so  far  down  as  to  bring  up  and  incorporate  with  the  soil, 
some  of  the  ingredients  in  which  it  is  wanting.  This  admixture 
is  also  of  remarkable  benefit  in  old  or  long  cultivated  soils,  which 
have  become  deficient  in  inorganic  matters  and  in  their  texture. 

The  effect  of  long  continued  cultivation^  besides  exhausting  what 
is  essential  to  the  earthy  part  of  plants,  is  to  break  down  the 
coarser  particles  of  the  soil,  by  the  mechanical  action  of  the  plow, 
harrow,  etc.,  and  in  a  much  more  rapid  degree,  by  the  chemical 
combinations  which  cultivation  and  manuring  produce.  A  few 
years  suffice  to  exhibit  striking  examples  in  the  formation  and 
decomposition  of  rocks  and  stones.  Stalactites  and  various  speci- 
mens of  limestone,  indurated  clays,  sandstone,  and  breccias  or 
pudding  stones,  are  formed  in  favorable  circumstances,  almost  under 
our  eye;  while  some  limestones,  shales,  sandstones, etc.,  break  down 
in  large  masses  annually,  from  the  combined  effect  of  moisture,  heat 
and  frost.  The  same  changes  on  a  smaller  scale,  are  constantly 
going  forward  in  the  soil,  and  much  more  rapidly  while  under  cul 
tivation.  The  general  tendency  of  these  surface  changes  is 
towards  pulverization.  The  particles  forming  the  soil,  from  the 
impalbable  mite  of  dust,  to  the  large  pebbles,  and  even  stones  and 
rocks,  are  continually  broken  up  by  the  combined  action  of  the 
vital  roots  and  the  constituents  of  soils,  by  which  new  elements 
of  vegetable  food  are  developed  and  become  available,  and  in  a 
form  so  minute,  as  to  be  imbibed  by  the  spongioles  of  the  roots, 
and  by  the  absorbent  vessels,  they  are  afterwards  distributed  in 
their  appropriate  places  in  the  plant.    Where  this  action  has 


SOILS. 


35 


been  going  on  for  a  long  period,  a  manifestly  beneficial  effect  has 
immediately  followed  from  bringing  up  and  mixing  with  the  super- 
ficial earth,  portions  of  the  subsoil  which  have  never  before  been 
subject  to  cultivation. 

A  subsoil  which  is  permeable  to  water,  is  sometimes  impercep- 
tibly beneficial  to  vegetation,  not  only  by  allowing  the  latent 
moisture  to  ascend  and  yield  a  necessary  supply  to  the  plants,  but 
a  moisture  fi:equently  charged  with  lime  and  various  saline  matters, 
which  the  capillary  attraction  brings  from  remote  depths  below  the 
surface.  It  is  probably  from  this  cause,  that  some  soils  produce 
crops  far  beyond  the  yield  which  might  be  reasonably  looked  for 
from  the  fertilizing  materials  actually  contained  in  them.  This 
operation  is  rapidly  going  forward  during  the  heat  of  summer.  The 
water  thus  charged  with  saline  matters  ascends  and  evaporates  at 
and  below  the  surface,  leaving  them  diffused  throughout  the  soil. 
After  long  continued  dry  weather,  a  thin  white  coating  of  these 
salts  is  firequently  discernible  on  the  ground. 

Where  rain  seldom  or  never  falls,  this  result  is  noticeable  in 
numerous  and  sometimes  extensive  beds  of  quiescent  (not  shifting) 
sand.  Deposits  ofttimes  occur  several  inches  in  thickness.  Such 
are  the  extensive  beds  of  impure  muriate  of  soda  and  other  salts 
in  the  arid  deserts  of  Arizona;  in  the  great  Salt  Lake  Basin; 
in  the  southern  parts  of  Oregon;  the  nitrates  found  in  India, 
Egypt,  Peru,  and  various  other  parts  of  the  world. 

ADDITIONAL  PROPERTIES  OF  SOILS. 

Besides  the  qualities  of  soils  already  noticed,  there  are  several 
physical  conditions  which  affect  their  value.  They  should  be  of 
sufficient  depth,  friable,  or  easily  pulverized ;  they  should  possess 
the  right  color,  and  be  susceptible  of  the  proper  admission  and 
escape  of  heat,  air,  and  moisture. 

Jethro  Tull,  who  wrote  more  than  a  century  ago  on  the  subject 
of  agriculture,  maintained  that  if  a  soil  be  worked  to  a  proper 
depth,  and  perfectly  well  pulverized,  nothing  more  is  necessary  to 
insure  an  indefinite  succession  of  the  most  luxuriant  crops  without 


36 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


the  aid  of  manures;  and  it  must  be  confessed  his  practice  gave 
some  apparently  strong  confirmations  of  his  theory.  By  carrying 
tillage  far  below  the  surface,  thus  securing  the  minute  division  of 
the  earth,  and  rendering  it  permeable  to  the  roots,  he  insured  the 
free  access  of  air  and  moisture,  which  are  among  the  first  and  most 
important  requisites  in  the  growth  of  vegetables. 

But  Tull  wrote  before  agriculture  became  a  science,  and  omitted 
to  estimate  the  large  amount  of  fertile  ingredients  which  every 
crop  takes  out  of  the  soil,  and  which  can  only  be  supplied  by  the 
addition  of  fresh  materials.  A  succession  of  crops  would  therefore, 
so  far  reduce  the  soil  as  to  render  it  necessary  to  add  manures,  or 
vegetation  must  inevitably  fail.  This  careful  laborious  practice 
could  only  for  the  time  being,  enhance  the  crop  and  prolong  its 
available  supplies;  yet  in  accomplishing  even  this  object,  his  ex- 
ample is  worthy  of  the  imitation  of  every  tiller  of  the  soil. 

Friableness  of  the  Soil,  is  a  quality  equally  removed  from 
the  adhesiveness  of  strong  clay,  or  the  openness  of  loose  sand. 
Good  loams,  and  fertile  alluvial  soils,  always  possess  this  property. 
"When  stirred  by  the  plow,  the  spade,  or  the  hoe,  the  earth  should 
fall  and  crumble  readily,  although  wet.  Such  a  conditioir  secures 
a  ready  admission  to  the  roots,  which  thus  easily  pervade  the  soil, 
and  draw  from  it  in  every  direction,  their  necessary  support. 
Under  draining  and  the  addition  of  coarse  manures  to  clay,  fer- 
mented manures  and  ashes  to  sand,  and  lime  and  gypsum  to  both, 
will  materially  enhance  their  friableness. 

Color  is  an  essential  feature  in  soils,  and  like  friableness,. it  has 
an  important  relation  to  their  capacity  for  heat  and  moisture. 
Dark  colored  earths,  and  black  in  the  highest  degree,  absorb  heat 
more  rapidly  than  any  other  when  exposed  to  a  temperature  above 
their  own,  and  it  escapes  with  equal  readiness  when  their  relative 
temperature  is  reversed. 

A  rough  pulverized  surface^  which  is  seen  in  the  minute  inequal- 
ities of  a  friable  soil,  produces  the  same  result.  During  the  heat 
of  the  day,  especially  when  the  sun's  rays  fall  upon  the  earth,  the 
dark  friable  soil  imbibes  tlae  heat  freely,  and  transmits  it  to  the 


SOILS. 


37 


remotest  roots,  thus  securing  warmth  to  the  plant,  which  is  one 
of  the  necessary  conditions  of  its  growth.  When  the  temperature 
of  the  air  falls,  on  the  approach  of  evening,  a  reversed  action  in 
the  soil  takes  place  by  which  the  heat  as  rapidly  escapes.  •  This 
immediately  brings  the  surface  to  *'the  dew  point"  and  secures  a 
copious  deposit  of  moisture,  which  a  friable  soil  speedily  conveys 
to  every  part  of  the  roots. 

The  deiu  point  is  attained  when  the  surface  of  any  object  is 
below  the  temperature  of  the  surrounding  air;  and  the  careful 
observer  will  not  fail  to  discover  the  formation  of  dew,  not  only 
after  the  sun  has  risen,  and  long  before  he  sinks  below  the  horizon, 
when  the  condition  above  indicated  exists ;  but  sometimes  even  in 
the  fervor  of  a  mid-day  sun,  when  the  thick  corn  or  any  luxuriant 
vegetable  growth  repels  his  fierce  rays  from  the  earth.  In  many 
instances,  the  rank,  dark  growing  crops  themselves,  when  shielded 
from  the  sun's  rays  by  their  overspreading  tops,  become  rapid 
condensers  of  atmospheric  vapor,  and  the  plant  drinks  in  at  every 
pore,  the  wholesome  and  nutritious  aliment,  and  frequently  collects 
a  surplus,  which  streams  down  its  sides  to  the  thirsty  soil  beneath. 
The  principle  is  further  illustrated  by  the  deposit  of  moisture  in 
large  globules  on  the  surface  of  any  vessel  or  object  in  the  shade, 
which  is  sensibly  below  the  surrounding  temperature,  as  is  shown 
by  an  ea^rthen  or  metaUic  vessel  filled  with  cold  water  and  set  in  a 
warm  room  on  a  summer's  day. 

The  proper  capacity  of  soils  for  imhihing  and  parting  with 
moisture^  gives  to  some  a  decided  advantage  over  others  which 
have  it  in  an  imperfect  degree ;  as  it  is  found  by  recent  experi- 
ments, that  rich  porous  soils,  which  are  readily  penetrated  by  water 
and  air,  absorb  the  nutritious  gases  (oxygen,  nitrogen,  and  their 
compounds,  nitric  and  carbonic  acid,  ammonia,  etc.,)  largely  from 
the  atmosphere,  and  that  they  do  this  to  an  appreciable  extent, 
only  while  moist.  The  effect  of  this  will  readily  be  estimated, 
from  the  weU  known  beneficial  influence  exerted  on  the  growing 
plant  by  the  presence  of  these  important  elements. 


38  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 

Light  colored  clays^  marls  and  sands,  are  neither  in  their  me- 
chanical texture,  friableness  or  color,  the  best  suited  to  promote 
the  growth  of  plants.  Peat  soils,  from  their  too  great  affinity  for 
water  in  their  natural  condition,  are  even  less  adapted  to  the  object 
than  either  of  the  preceding. 

Schubler  has  found  that  during  twelve  hours  in  the  night,  when 
the  air  was  moist,  1,000  lbs.  of  entirely  dry  quartz*  or  common 
sand,  did  not  gain  a  pound ;  calcareous  sand  gained  2  lbs.;  loamy 
soil,  21  lbs.;  clay  loam,  25  lbs.;  such  as  were  rich  in  vegetable 
mold,  still  more,  while  peats  absorbed  a  much  larger  per  cent,  than 
either. 

Davy  also  found,  that  the  same  quantity  of  very  fertile  and 
perfectly  dry  soil  on  exposure  gained  18  lbs.  in  one  hour;  a  good 
sandy  soil  under  the  same  circumstances  absorbed  1 1  lbs.;  a  coarse 
inferior  sand,  8  lbs.;  and  an  almost  worthless  heath  gained  but 
3  lbs. 

The  power  of  soils  in  retaining  water,  is  somewhat  proportionate 
to  their  power  of  absorbing  it : 

Of  its  own  weight. 

Quartz  sand  is  saturated  when  it  contains  24  per  cent. 
Calcareous  sand       "  "  "  28 

Loamy  soil  "  "  "  38 

Clay  loam  "  "  "47  " 

Peat  (about)  "  "  "  80 

It  is  thus  evident  that  perfection  is  not  obtained  in  either  sandy, 
gravelly,  clay  or  peat  soils,  as  they  are  characterized  in  the  classi- 
fication we  have  assumed.  It  is  only  when  they  have  been 
improved  by  partial  admixture  with  each  other,  and  charged  with 
the  proper  quantity  of  vegetable  manures,  and  the  salts  which  are 
requisite  for  their  fertility;  when  they  have  been  drained  wherever 
necessary  to  free  them  from  stagnant  water,  whether  upon  or 


*  Quartz,  as  analyzed  by  Bergmann,  gave  93  per  cent,  of  silex ;  6  of  alumina ;  and  1 
of  oxide  of  iron.  It  comes  so  near  a  pure  silica,  that  m  treating  of  it  agriculturally, 
we  speak  of  it  as  silex  or  silica. 


SOILS. 


39 


within  the  soil,  or  to  remove  any  noxious  springs  which  some- 
times contain  matters  in  solution  injurious  to  vegetation;  and 
finally  when  the  subsoil  is  in  the  proper  condition  to  facilitate  the 
free  passage  of  the  roots  in  every  direction — ^it  is  only  when  all 
these  conditions  exist,  that  the  fullest  products  from  soils  can  be 
realized. 

It  is  absolutely  essential  to  profitable  cultivation,  that  all  the 
earthy  substances  required  by  the  crops  should  exist  in  the  soil  in 
sufficient  quantities,  and  in  an  accessible  form  to  supply  its  wants. 
The  proportions  may  be  various,  one  sometimes  greatly  predomi- 
nating over  another,  as  is  sufficiently  obvious  in  the  equally 
productive  powers  of  good  clays,  sands  and  peats ;  yet  in  every 
instance  it  will  be  found,  unless  owing  to  a  heavy  coatmg  of 
manures,  and  a  peculiarly  favorable  season,  that  they  can  be 
relied  on  for  such  constant  results,  only  when  they  have  been 
so  amehorated  as  to  approximate  towards  the  character  of 
loams. 

The  following  is  an  analysis  of  three  specimens  of  very  fertile 
soils,  made  by  Sprengel: 

Soil  near   From  the  banks  of  the  Weser. 
Osterbruch.   near  Hoya.     near  Weserbe. 


Silica,  Quartz,  Sand  and  Silicates,    ,  * 

.  84.510 

71.849 

83.318 

9.350 

3.085 

5.410 

5.840 

0.450 

0.925 

0.620 

0.987 

0.720 

0.525 

0.245 

0.120 

Potash  and  Soda  extracted  by  water, 

.  0.009 

0.007 

0.005 

0.131 

0.065 

0.174 

0.025 

Chlorine  in  common  Salt, 

0.006 

0.002 

0,006 

1.270 

0.800 

7.550 

4.126 

Organic  matters  containing  nitrogen, 

.  0.960 

2.000 

1.220 

Water,  

0.029 

0.100 

0.150 

100 

100 

100 

The  above  had  remained  for  a  long  time  in  pasture,  and  the 
second  was  remarkable  for  the  fattening  qualities  of  its  grass, 
when  fed  to  cattle. 


40 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


The  following  are  arable  lands  of  great  fertility : 


1 

2 

3 

From  Ohio. 

Soil. 

Soil  from  Moravia. 

Soil. 

Subsoil. 

From  Belgium. 

Silica  and  fine  Sand,  .  ♦ 

77.209 

87.143 

94.261 

64.517 

5.666 

1.376 

4.810 

2.220 

2.336 

8..316 

Oxide  of  Manganese, 

1.520 

0.360 

1.200 

0.800 

0.564 

0-243^£ime  9-403 

i  1  (lf\ 

0.312 

0.310  Ca/>  10.361 

nt  Ma. 

Potash  chiefly  combined  with  Silica, 

n  1/ift 

0.120 

0.240 

0.100 

n  fi4n 

0.025 

0.240 

0.013 

Phosphoric  Acid  combined  with  Lime 

0,651 

0.060 

trace 

1.221 

Sulphuric  Acid  in  Gypsum,  . 

0.011 

0.027 

0.034 

0.009 

Chlorine  in  common  Salt,  . 

0.010 

0.036 

trace 

0.003 

Carbonic  Acid  united  to  the  Lime, 

0.080 

1.304. 

0.447 

Insoluble  Humus,  .... 

0.540 

1.072 

Organic  substances  containing  nitro- 

gen,   

1.108 

1.011 

100  100  100  100 

''Of  these  soils,  the  first  had  been  cropped  for  160  years  suc- 
cessively, without  either  manure  or  naked  fallow.  The  second 
was  a  virgin  soil,  celebrated  for  its  fertility.  The  third  had  been 
unmanured  for  twelve  years,  during  the  last  nine  of  which  it  had 
been  cropped  with  beans,  barley,  potatoes,  winter  barley  and  red 
clover,  clover,  winter  barley,  wheat,  oats,  naked  fallow." — 
Johnston. 

Bergmann  found  that  one  of  the  most  fertile  soils  in  Sweden 
contained  30  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime.  .  Chaptal  analyzed  a 
very  productive  soil  in  France,  which  gave  near  25  per  cent,  of 
the  same,  and  7  of  organic  matter.  Tillet  even  found  one,  and 
that  the  most  fertile,  which  yielded  37.5  of  carbonate  of  lime. 
Some  of  the  best  in  the  Mississippi  valley,  have  yielded  upon 
analysis,  20  to  25  per  cent,  of  magnesian  lime,  and  of  phosphate 
of  lime,  2  to  3  per  cent.  Many  other  soils  throughout  the  United 
States,  contain  an  equal  proportion  of  carbonate  of  lime.  Such 
are  usually  the  last  to  wear  out,  and  the  first  to  recover  by  the 
addition  of  manures,  when  suffered  to  remain  uncultivated  or  in  a 
state  of  rest. 


CHAPTER  11. 


MANUKES. 

While  soils  are  permitted  to  remain  in  their  natural  state,  or 
if  denuded  of  their  original  foliage  and  used  only  for  pasture,  little 
or  no  change  is  perceptible  either  in  their  character  or  productive 
powers.  A  shght  change  is  however  gradually  wrought  in  their 
texture  and  capacity  for  production,  which  is  fully  revealed  in  the 
lapse  of  centuries.  The  elevated  mountain's  side,  and  the  steep 
declivities  of  hills,  support  a  vegetation  of  more  or  less  luxuriance ; 
and  a  portion  of  this,  together  with  the  broken  twigs,  and  even 
the  wasting  matter  of  fallen  trees,  are  carried  down  by  the  rains 
and  become  a  rich  addition  to  the  lower  soils  on  which  they 
ultimately  rest.  Besides  the  vegetable  matter  thus  annually 
removed  from  one  spot  and  accumulated  upon  another,  many  of 
the  fertilizing  salts,  which  the  action  of  the  roots,  or  exposure  to 
the  atmosphere  has  rendered  soluble,  and  the  fine  particles  of  earth 
which  the  alternations  of  heat  and  frost,  of  rain  and  drought,  have 
reduced  to  dust,  are  also  washed  out  of  the  higher  soils  and 
deposited  on  the  plains  and  valleys  below.  Such,  doubtless,  was 
once  the  condition  of  those  secondary  bottom  lands,  which  for 
ages  probably,  received  the  rich  deposits  from  other  soils,  but 
whose  present  situations,  elevated  beyond  even  the  extraordinary 
rise  of  the  rivers  whose  course  is  near,  show  some  radical  alter- 
ation of  their  respective  levels,  by  which  the  latter  no  longer 
contributes  to  their  fertilization. 

These  soils  being  well  stored  with  the  food  of  plants,  and  fre- 
quently to  a  great  depth,  will  bear  large  successive  crops  for  a 
long  period ;  and  they  have,  in  many  instances,  been  treated  by 


42 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


their  first  occupants  as  if  they  were  inexhaustible.  Of  this  de- 
scription were  the  James  river  and  other  alluvial  lands  in  Virginia, 
some  of  which  were  continued  in  uninterrupted  crops  of  corn  and 
tobacco  for  more  than  a  century  without  the  addition  of  manures. 
But  thej  have  long  since  become  exhausted,  and  the  more  careful 
planters  are  now  endeavoring  to  resuscitate  those  worn  out  lands, 
which  ought  never  to  have  become  impoverished.  Of  the  same 
character  are  most  of  the  secondary  bottoms  on  the  Connecticut, 
the  Scioto,  the  Miami,  and  other  rivers.  The  first,  although  under 
cultivation  for  more  than  two  centuries,  in  consequence  of  its 
division  among  intelligent  farmers,  has  fully  maintained  its  pro- 
ductiveness;  and  the  latter,  if  properly  managed,  are  capable  of 
perpetual  fertihty.  Although  but  a  httle  more  than  half  a  century 
has  elapsed  since  these  last  have  been  subject  to  the  white  man, 
they  have  already,  in  too  many  instances,  been  severely  cropped. 
The  writer  has  seen  fields,  which  he  was  assured  have  borne  sixty 
seven  large  successive  crops  of  corn,  and  exclusively  from  their 
own  resources.  A  more  careful  tillage  is  however  becoming, 
general. 

The  lower  alluvial  bottoms  that  are  frequently  overflowed,  and 
thus  receive  large  coatings  of  manures  which  are  fully  equivalent 
to  the  products  taken  off,  are  the  only  soils  which  will  permanently 
sustain  heavy  crops  without  the  aid  of  man.  Such  are  the  banks 
of  the  Nile  and  the  Ganges,  and  many  of  our  own  rivers,  which 
by  the  overflowing  of  their  waters  alone,  have  continued  to  yield 
large  annual  burthens,  the  two  former,  for  more  than  3,000  years; 
but  they  are  thus  supported  at  the  expense  of  a  natural  drainage 
of  thousands  of  acres,  which  by  this  means,  are  proportionally 
impoverished.  Manures  then,  in  some  form,  must  be  considered 
as  absolutely  essential  to  sustaining  soils  subjected  to  tillage. 

In  their  broadest  sense,  manures  embrace  every  material,  which 
if  added  to  the  soil,  tends  to  its  fertihzation.  They  are  appropri- 
ately divided  into  organic  and  inorganic ;  the  first  embracing 
animal  and  vegetable  substances,  which  have  an  appreciable 


MANURES. 


43 


quantity  of  nitrogen  ;  the  last  compreliending  only  such  as  are 
purely  mineral  or  earthy,  and  which  in  general  contain  no  nitrogen. 
These  characteristics  are  sometimes  partially  blended,  but  they 
are  sufficiently  distinct  for  classification. 

Much  pertinacity  has  been  exhibited  by  some  highly  inteUigent 
minds,  who  should  have  entertained  more  hberal  views,  as  to  the 
peculiar  kinds '  of  manures  necessary  to  support  a  satisfactory 
productiveness.  We  have  seen  that  Tull  maintained,  that  the 
deepening  and  thorough  pulverization  of  the  soil  was  alone  suffi- 
cient to  secure  perpetual  fertility.  But  this  crude  notion,  it  is 
evident  to  the  most  superficial  modern  reader,  is  wholly  untenable. 
Some  agriculturists  of  the  present  day  however,  while  they  scout 
at  the  theory  of  Tull,  (who  was  really  a  shrewd  man  for  his  day,) 
will  yet  claim  as  essential  to  successfiil  vegetation,  the  existence 
in  the  soil  of  but  a  part  only  of  the  food  of  plants.  Thus,  one 
asserts  that  the  salts  alone  will  secure  good  crops;  others  maintain 
that  the  nitrogenous  substances  are  the  true  source  of  fertihty ; 
while  still  another  class  refer  to  the  presence  of  humus  or  geine 
(the  available  product  of  vegetable  and  animal  decay  in  the  soil) 
as  the  only  valuable  foundation  of  vegetable  nutriment  in  aU 
manures.  Truth  and  sound  practice  he  between,  or  rather  in  the 
combination  of  all  these  opinions. 

It  has  been  shown  in  a  preceding  page,  that  all  fertile  soils  must 
have  not  less  than  15,  and  more  probably  16,  different  simple  or 
elementary  substances,  in  various  combinations  with  each  other. 
All  of  the  ordinary  cultivated  plants  contain  potash,  soda,  lime, 
magnesia,  alumina,  sihca,  oxide  of  iron,  oxide  of  manganese, 
sulphuric  acid,  phosphoric  acid,  chlorine,  and  frequently  iodine ; 
each  of  which,  excepting  the  two  last,  are  in  combination  with 
ogygen.  In  addition  to  these,  they  also  have  carbon,  oxygen, 
nitrogen  and  hydrogen.  Other  substances  or  ultimate  principles 
may  possibly  exist  in  plants,  which  analysis  may  hereafter  detect, 
but  hitherto  they  have  eluded  the  closest  investigation. 

It  is  therefore  obvious  that  such  principles  as  all  fertile  soils 
furnish  to  vegetables,  must  be  contained  in  manures.    It  is  no 


44 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


satisfactory  answer  to  this  position  to  assert,  that  numerous  ex- 
periments have  apparently  been  successful,  of  growing  plants  in 
pure  sand  and  water;  or  with  charcoal  and  the  salts  added),  or 
even  that  there  are  some  atmospheric  plants,  that  fulfill  their 
zoophytic  existence  in  air.  Growth  may  continue  for  a  long  time, 
imder  such  circumstances ;  hut  full  maturity  never  arrives,  and 
prohally  never  cany  without  the  av-ailahle  presence  in  the  soil  of 
every  element  which  enters  into  the  composition  of  plants. 

Profitable  farming  requires  that  manures  embodying  all  these 
elements,  should  be  added  in  sufiBcient  quantities  to  the  soil,  to 
develop  fully  and  rapidly,  such  crops  as  are  sought  from  it.  It 
becomes  then,  a  matter  of  the  highest  consequence  to  the  farmer 
to  understand,  not  only  what  substances  may  be  useful  as  manures 
but  also  how  to  apply  them  in  the  best  manner  to  his  crops  so  far 
as  they  can  be  made  profitable.  We  shall  first  speak  of  the 
inorganic  manures. 

ASHES. 

If  any  organic  matter,  whether  animal  or  vegetable,  be  burnt, 
an  incombustible  substance  remains  behind,  called  the  ash,  or 
ashes.  This  varies  in  different  plants  from  less  than  1  to  over  12 
per  cent,  of  their  whole  weight.  It  also  varies  with  the  dijSerent 
soils  upon  which  they  are  found,  with  the  dijfferent  parts  of  the 
same  plant,  and  in  the  different  stages  of  its  maturity.  Thus 
plants  which  grow  on  peaty,  or  low,  wet  soils,  give  a  less  propor- 
tion of  ashes,  than  those  which  mature  upon  soils  that  are  dry  or 
rich  in  the  sihcates  and  salts.  The  bark,  leaves  and  twigs,  give 
much  more  ashes  than  the  trunks  of  trees  and  stems  of  plants : 
and  in  their  early  growth,  they  yield  a  larger  proportion  than  after 
they  have  attained  maturity. 

The  following  table,  constructed  from  several  rehable  sources, 
but  principally  by  Sprengel,  arranged  in  part  by  J ohnston,  will 
show  the  relative  quantity  of  ashes  found  in  some  of  the  more 
important  objects  of  cultivation : 


MANURES. 


45 


w 
cS 

O 

c3 

r0 

O 

ime. 

[agnesia. 

Alumina. 

ilica. 

alphuric 
Acid. 

Phosphoric 
Acid. 

hlorine. 

xide  of  Iron. 

i 

^  i 

O  c 

03  5 

X 

otal  in  every 
1,000  lbs. 

n  , 

HH 

QO 

oc 

o 

O 

*Wheat— Grain,  . 

2.25 

2.40 

0.96 

0.90 

0.26 

4.00 

0.50 

0.40 

0.10 

trace 

11.77 

Straw,  . 

0.20 

0*29 

2.40 

0.32 

0.90 

28.70 

0.37 

1.70 

0.30 

35.18 

Barley— Grain,  .  . 

2.78 

2.90 

1.06 

1.80 

0.25 

11.82 

.59 

2.10 

0.19 

trace 

23.49 

Straw,  . 

liso 

0"48 

5.54 

0.76 

1.46 

38.56 

1.18 

1.60 

0.70 

0.14 

0.20 

52.42 

Oats- 

Grain,  .  .  . 

1.50 

1.32 

0.86 

0.67 

0.14 

19.76i0.35 

0.70 

0.10 

0.40 

25.80 

Straw,  .  . 

8.70 

0.02 

1.52 

0.22 

0.06 

45.88 

0.79 

0.12 

0.05 

0.02 

0.02 

57.40 

Rye— 

Grain,  .    .  . 

5^32 

f 

1  22 

0.44 

0.24 

1.64 

0.23 

0.46 

0.09 

0.42 

o!34 

10.40 

Straw,  .  . 

Q  32 

0.11 

1.78 

0.12 

0.25 

22.97 

1.70 

0.51 

0.17 

27.93 

Field 

Bean,    .  . 

4.15 

8*16 

1.65 

1  58 

0.34 

1.26 

0.89 

2.92 

0  41 

21.36 

Bean 

'  Straw,  .  . 

16^56 

0*50 

6!24 

2!09 

0.10 

2.20 

0.34 

2.26 

0.'80 

0.07 

0.05 

3l!21 

Field 

Pea,  .    .  . 

8^10 

7^39 

0.58 

1.36 

0.20 

4.10 

0.53 

1.90 

0.38 

0.10 

24.64 

Pea  i 

"  Straw,  .  4 

2*35 

27.30 

3.42 

0.60 

9.96 

3.37 

2.40 

0.04 

0.20 

0.07 

49.71 

Potato— Roots,  .  . 

4.028 

2.334 

.331 

.324 

.050 

.084 

.540 

.401 

.160 

.032 

8.284 

Tops,  . 

8  19 

09 

12.97 

1.70 

.04 

4.94 

.42 

1.97 

.50 

.02 

30.84 

Turnips— Roots,  . 

2.386 

1.048 

.752 

.254 

.036 

.388 

.801 

.367 

.239 

.032 

6.303 

lb 

Leaves, 

3.23 

2.22 

6.20 

.59 

.03 

1.28 

2.52 

.98 

.87 

.17 

18.09 

Carrots,  .... 

3.538 

.922 

.657 

.384 

.039 

.137 

.270 

.514 

.070 

.033 

.060 

6.619 

Parsnips,    ,   .  . 

2.079 

.702 

.468 

.270 

.024 

1.62 

.192 

.100 

.178 

.005 

4.180 

Rye  Grass,   .   .  . 

8.81 

3.94 

7.34 

0.90 

0.31 

27.72 

3.53 

0.25 

0.06 

52.86 

Red  Cloter,  .  .  . 

19.95 

5.29 

27.80 

3.33 

0.14 

3.61 

4.47 

6.57 

3.62 

74.78 

White  Clover,  .  . 

31.05 

5.79 

23.48 

3.05 

1.90 

14.73 

3.53 

5.05 

2.11 

0.63 

91.32 

Lucern,  .... 

13.40 

6.15 

48.31 

3.48 

0.30 

3.30 

4.04 

13.07 

3.18 

0.30 

95.53 

Sainfoin,  .... 

20.57 

4.37 

21.95 

2.88 

0.66 

5.00 

3.41 

9.16 

1.57 

69.57 

The  farmer  will  perceive  from  this  table,  the  great  value  of 
ashes  to  his  crops.  The  quantity  seems  small  in  comparison  with 
the  total  weight  of  the  vegetables ;  yet  small  as  it  is,  the  aggre- 
gate of  a  few  years  will  so  far  exhaust  the  soil  of  one  or  more  of 
the  principles  necessary  to  sustain  a  luxuriant  vegetation,  that  it 
will  cease  to  yield  remunerating  returns.    The  annual  exhaustion 


*In  the  foregoing  table,  the  grain,  beans,  peas,  straw  and  hay  are  estimated  after 
they  have  been  dried  in  the  air ;  the  roots  as  they  are  taken  from  the  field.  The 
clovers  and  grass  lose  from  55  to  75  per  cent,  of  their  entire  weight  when  full  of  sap, 
lessening,  of  course,  as  they  approach  to  the  state  of  ripening  their  seed.  The  potato 
loses  in  drying,  69  per  cent,  of  water ;  the  turnip,  91 ;  carrot,  87  ;  the  turnip  leaf,  86 ; 
the  carrot  leaf,  parsnip  and  parsnip  leaf,  each  81 ;  and  the  cabbage,  93. 

There  is  much  variation  in  the  different  specimens  of  the  above  substances  sub- 
jected to  examination,  according  to  the  peculiar  variety,  the  difi"erent  circumstances 
and  various  stages  of  their  growth.  The  oat  is  the  most  variable  of  the  grains,  one 
specimen  sometimes  containing  three  times  the  quantity  of  ash  afforded  by  others. 
The  roots  also  sometimes  vary  as  three  to  one  in  their  quantity  of  ash.  As  the 
grain  and  most  of  the  other  crops  approach  to  maturity,  the  quantity  of  some  of  the 
principles  constituting  the  ash  diminish,  as  of  potash  and  soda,  their  presence  being 
no  longer  necessary  in  the  sap  to  aid  the  formation  of  the  various  products  of  the 
plants. 

+  Included  in  Potash. 


46 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


of  salts  from  large  crops  of  grain,  roots  and  grass,  is  from  180  to 
more  than  250  lbs.  in  every  acre  of  soil.  The  ashes  of  vegetables 
consist  of  such  elements  as  are  always  required  for  their  perfect 
maturity,  and  it  is  evident  they  must  furnish  one  of  the  best 
manures  which  can  be  supphed  for  their  growth.  They  are  to 
the  earthy  parts  of  vegetables,  what  milk  is  to  the  animal  system, 
or  barn-yard  manures  are  to  the  entire  crop;  they  contain  every 
element,  and  generally  in  the  right  proportions,  for  insuring  a  Ml 
and  rapid  growth. 

Ashes  then,  may  be  pronounced  the  best  of  the  saline  manures. 
They  are  also  among  the  most  economical;  as  from  our  free  use 
of  fuel,  they  are  largely  produced  by  almost  every  household. 
Good  husbandry  dictates  that  not  a  pound  of  ashes  should  be 
wasted,  but  all  should  be  saved  and  apphed  to  the  land;  and 
where  they  can  be  procured  at  a  reasonable  price,  they  should  be 
purchased  for  manure.  Leached  ashes,  though  less  valuable, 
contain  all  the  elements  of  the  unleached,  having  been  deprived 
only  of  a  part  of  their  potash  and  soda.  They  may  be  drilled 
into  the  soil  with  roots  and  grain,  sown  broadcast  on  meadows  or 
pastures,  or  mixed  with  the  muck  heap.  They  improve  all  soils 
not  already  saturated  with  the  principles  which  they  contain. 

The  quantity  of  ashes  that  should  he  applied  to  the  acre,  must 
depend  on  the  soil  and  crops  cultivated.  Potatoes,  turnips  and 
all  roots— clover,  lucern,  peas,  beans,  and  the  grasses,  are  great 
exhausters  of  the  salts,  and  they  are  consequently  much  benefited 
by  ashes.  They  are  used  with  decided  advantage  for  the  above 
crops  in  connection  with  bone  dust;  and  for  clover,  peas  and 
roots,  their  effects  are  much  enhanced  when  mixed  with  gypsum. 
Light  soils  should  have  a  smaller,  and  rich  lands  or  clays,  a  heavier 
dressing.  From  twelve  to  fifteen  bushels  per  acre  for  the  former, 
and  thirty  for  the  latter,  is  not  too  much;  or  if  they  are  leached, 
the  quantity  may  be  increased  one-half,  as  they  act  with  less 
energy.  Repeated  dressings  of  ashes,  Hke  those  of  lime  and 
gypsum,  without  a  corresponding  addition  of  vegetable  or  barn- 
yard manures,  will  eventually  exhaust  tillage  lands. 


MANURES. 


47 


Ashes  may  he  a2jpUed  to  meadow  lands^  for  a  longer  time  than 
to  any  other  crops,  and  for  this  obvious  reason.  The  whole  sur- 
face of  the  soil  is  closely  covered  with  vegetable  agents,  which 
are  actively  employed  in  drawing  carbon  from  the  air  and  soil,  a 
large  portion  of  which  is  stored  up  in  the  stubble  and  roots,  which 
thus  makes  it  less  important  that  the  organic  matters  should  be 
given  back  to  the  soil,  in  the  shape  of  vegetable  or  animal  ma- 
nures. As  an  instance  of  the  rapidity  with  which  this  operation 
goes  forward,  it  has  been  found  that  the  dried  roots  and  stubble 
of  a  clover  field  the  second  year,  (and  after  one  crop  for  the  first, 
and.  two  for  the  second  season  had  been  taken  off,)  yielded  56 
lbs.  for  every  100  lbs.  of  the  aggregate  crops  of  hay.  An  old 
meadow  has  yielded  400  lbs.  of  roots  for  every  100  of  hay  for 
the  season.  Carbonaceous  and  organic  matters  are  constantly 
increasing  in  pastures,  and  they  also  increase  for  a  time  in 
meadows;  and  will  continue  to  do  so  for  an  indefinite  period,  if 
the  ashes  of  plants  are  added  to  the  soil  nearly  to  the  amount 
of  those  taken  off.  With  this  increase  in  the  organic  elements 
of  vegetation,  (if  we  were  certain  that  nitrogen  is  accumulated  in 
the  same  ratio,  which  we  are  not,)  it  is  evident  that  the  salts  alone 
would  then  be  wanting  to  give  the  utmost  luxuriance.  But  care 
is  necessary  that  they  be  not  added  in  excess. 

Coal  Ashes. — The  bituminous  and  anthracite  coals  afford 
ashes,  and  although  inferior  in  quahty  to  those  made  from  wood 
and  vegetables,  are  like  them,  a  valuable  manure,  and  they  should 
be  applied  to  the  land  in  a  similar  manner.  If  they  contain  many 
cinders  from  not  having  been  thoroughly  burned,  they  are  more 
suited  to  heavy  than  to  light  soils ;  as  they  tend  to  their  mechanical 
division,  which  though  beneficial  to  the  former,  is  injurious  to 
the  latter. 

Ashes  of  Sea  Weeds  or  Marine  Plants. — ^When  from 
either  quantity  or  remoteness  it  is  inconvenient  to  carry  the  sea 
weed,  which  abounds  on  some  coasts,  on  to  the  soil,  it  can  be 
burned ;  when  it  will  be  found  to  yield  a  large  proportion  of  ash, 
which  is  pecuharly  rich  in  soda.    This  is  of  great  value  to  the 


48 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


farmer.  Several  species  of  tlie  fuci  have  for  a  long  period  been 
collected  and  burned  on  the  northern  coasts  of  Scotland,  Norway 
and  the  Baltic,  formerly  an  article  of  commerce  under  the  name 
of  hd'p.  Its  value  consisted  in  its  alkaline  properties,  for  whj^h 
it  was  much  used  by  the  glass  and  soap  makers,  the  bleachers, 
and  for  other  uses  in  the  arts.  For  these  purposes  it  is  now 
nearly  superceded  by  soda  as\  a  crude  carbonate  of  soda,  ex- 
tracted by  the  decomposition  of  sea  salt;  and  the  price  it  now 
bears  m  market  will  bring  it  within  the  reach  of  farmers  for  some 
of  the  economical  purposes  of  husbandry. 

Peat  Ashes. — Nearly  all  peat  approaching  to  purity,  when 
thrown  out  of  its  bed  and  thoroughly  dried,  will  admit  of  being 
burned  to  an  imperfect  ash ;  and  when  it  does  not  reach  this  point 
it  will  become  thoroughly  charred  and  reduced  to  cinders.  In 
both  of  these  forms  it  is  a  valuable  dressing  for  the  soil.  It  is 
always  better  for  dry  uplands,  to  use  the  unburned  peat  after  it 
has  been  properly  composted  in  a  muck  heap,  as  the  organic 
matters  which  it  contains,  and  which  are  expelled  by  burning,  are 
of  great  benefit  to  the  soil.  But  when  they  are  remote,  the  peat 
may  be  burned  at  a  trifling  cost,  and  the  ashes  carried  to  a  con- 
siderable distance  with  manifest  profit.  The  principal  use 
hitherto  made  of  them  by  farmers,  has  been  in  spreading  them 
directly  over  the  surface  of  the  reclaimed  bed  from  which  they 
were  taken. 

LIME. 

Lime  is  the  product  of  limestone,  marble,  marl  or  chalk,  after 
it  has  been  burned,  or  subjected  to  an  intense  heat.  In  either 
of  the  foregoing  forms  it  is  a  carbonate,  and  contains  from  43  to 
46  per  cent,  of  its  weight  of  carbonic  acid,  which  is  expelled  by 
calcination.  After  the  acid  has  been  driven  off,  the  lime  is  in  its 
quick  or  caustic  state,  and  in  that  condition  its  affinity  for  moisture 
and  carbonic  acid  is  great,  and  it  greedily  comljines  with  both  on  ex- 
exposure  to  water,  the  earth,  or  even  to  the  atmosphere,  passing 
again  into  a  carbonate  and  hydrate.  It  is  in  these  latter  condi- 
tions that  it  is  applied  to  soils  and  muck  heaps.    If  reduced  to 


MANURES. 


4.9 


powder  (the  condition  in  which  chalks  and  marls  exist,)  limestone 
acts  with  much  less  efficiency  than  if  burnt. 

Lime,  next  to  ashes,  either  as  a  carbonate  or  sulphate,  has  been 
instrumental  in  the  improvement  of  our  soils  beyond  any  other 
saline  manures.  Like  ashes  too,  its  application  is  beneficial  to 
every  soil,  not  already  sufficiently  charged  with  it.  It  makes 
heavy  land  Ughter,  and  light  land  heavier ;  it  gives  adhesiveness 
to  creeping  sands  or  leachy  gravel,  and  comparative  openness  and 
porosity  to  tenacious  clays;  and  it  has  a  permanently  beneficial 
efiect  where  generally  used,  in  disinfecting  the  atmosphere  of  any 
noxious  vapors  existing  in  it.  It  does  not  condense  and  retain 
the  organic  matters  brought  into  contact  with  it  by  the  air  and 
rains,  but  it  has  the  better  effect  of  converting  the  insoluble 
matters  in  the  soil  into  available  food  for  plants.  It  has  proved 
in  many  instances  the  wand  of  Midas,  changing  everything  it 
touched  into  gold.  It  is  the  key  to  the  strong  box  of  the  farmer, 
securely  locking  up  his  treasure  till  demanded  for  his  own  use, 
and  yielding  it  profusely  to  his  demands  whenever  required.  In 
its  influence  in  drying  the  land,  and  accelerating  the  growth  of 
plants,  the  use  of  lime  is  equivalent  to  an  increase  of  temperature ; 
and  th^  farmer  sometimes  experiences,  in  effect,  the  same  benefit 
from  it,  as  if  his  land  were  removed  a  degree  or  two  to  the  south. 
The  influence  of  Hme  in  resuscitating  soils  after  they  have  been 
exhausted,  has  been  frequent  and  striking;  and  it  may  be  stated 
as  an  incontrovertible  truth,  that  wherever  procurable  at  low 
prices,  lime  is  one  of  the  most  economical  and  efficient  agents  in 
securing  fertility,  within  the  farmer's  reach. 

It  has  been  falsely  said  to  be  an  exhauster  of  soils;  that  it 
enriches  the  fathers  and  impoverishes  the  sons.  So  far  as  it  gives 
the  occupant  of  the  land  the  control  over  its  latent  fertility,  this 
is  true,  but  if  he  squanders  the  rich  products  when  within  his 
reach,  it  will  be  his  own  fault.  Lime  gives  him  the  power  of 
exhausting  his  prmcipal;  if  he  uses  aught  beyond  the  interest,  his 
prodigality  is  cnargeable  to  his  own  folly,  not  to  the  hberality  of 
his  agent.  By  the  addition  of  Hme  to  the  soil,  the  insoluble 
.  3 


50 


AMERICAN  AGKICULTU'KE. 


ingredients  contained  in  it  are  set  free,  and  they  are  thus  enabled 
to  aid  in  the  formation  of  plants,  and  larger  crops  and  of  better 
quality  are  the  results.  If  these  be  taken  from  the  soil,  without 
a  corresponding  return  of  manure,  exhaustion  must  follow.  In 
the  preceding  table  it  is  seen,  that  lime  constitutes  in  all  cases, 
only  a  very  minute  part  of  the  entire  plant;  all  the  other  ingre- 
dients must  be  added  or  the  fertility  of  the  soil  cannot  be  sustained. 
But  in  the  very  abundance  of  the  crops  which  hme  affords,  means 
are  provided  for  the  maintenance  of  the  highest  fertihty.  If  they 
are  consumed  on  the  farm,  their  manure  should  be  returned  to  the 
fields ;  and  if  sold,  other  manures  should  be  procured  to  replace 
the  substances  from  which  they  are  formed. 

A  practice  which  has  extensively  prevailed  for  many  years  in 
sections  of  the  Middle  States,  consists  in  alternating  wheat  and 
clover  on  strongly  hmed  lands.  The  plan  usually  adopted  is  to 
give  one  year  to  wheat  and  two  to  clover,  sometimes  taking  off 
the  first  clover  crop  for  hay,  and  feeding  off  on  the  ground  and 
plowing  in  the  after  growth  for  manure ;  and  upon  this,  wheat  is 
again  sown.  This  course  has  succeeded  in  bringing  into  fine  con- 
dition, many  unprofitable  fields.  It  may  work  well  for  years,  but 
it  is  nevertheless  faulty  and  improvident.  Lime  only  is  add^d 
directly  to  the  soil,  but  clover  draws  from  the  air  and  moisture 
whatever  food  it  can  attract  from  them.  There  remain  to  be 
added,  potash,  soda,  the  phosphates  and  silicates,  which  the  soil 
will  soon  cease  to  furnish  sufRcient  for  the  wants  of  the  wheat 
and  clover  removed,  or  sterihty  must  inevitably  follow. 

The  best  method,  is  to  add  in  some  form^  the  full  amount  of  all 
the  materials  ahstracted  hy  the  annual  crop.  When  this  is  done, 
the  large  dressing  of  lime  will  retain  the  accumulating  fertihty, 
far  beyond  what  the  soil  would  be  capable  of  were  it  not  for  its 
agency,  and  it  is  in  this  that  the  great  profit  of  farming  consists. 

Large  crops  only  are  profitable.  The  market  value  of  many 
indifferent  ones  will  hardly  meet  the  expense  of  cultivation,  and 
it  is  only  the  excess  beyond  this  which  is  profit.  It  is  evident 
that  if  15  bushels  per  acre  of  wheat,  be  an  average  crop,  and  it 


MANURES. 


51 


requires  12  bushels  to  pay  all  expenses  of  production,  3  bushels 
is  the  amount  of  profit.  But  if  by  the  use  of  lime  and  ordinary 
manures,  the  product  can  be  raised  to  30  bushels  per  acre,  the 
profit  would  be  near  the  value  of  12  or  15  bushels,  after  paying 
for  the  manures.  Thus  the  advantage  from  good  management 
may  be  five  times  that  of  neglect.  This  example  is  given  as 
illustrating  a  principle  and  not  as  an  exact  measure  of  the  difier- 
ence  between  limed  and  unlimed  land.  We  have  seen  large  farms, 
worn  out  and  worthless  from  long  cropping,  restored  to  more 
than  their  virgin  fertility  by  the  liberal  application  of  lime. 

Application  of  Lime. — It  may  be  carried  on  to  the  ground 
immediately  after  burning,  and  placed  in  small  heaps.  There  it 
may  be  left  to  slack  by  rains  and  the  air,  or  it  is  better  to  reduce 
it  at  once  with  water  if  accessible,  and  then  spread  it  prepara 
tory  to  plowing.  A  good  practice  is  to  place  it  in  large  piles  and 
cover  it  thickly  with  earth,  which  gradually  reduces  it  to  powder. 
It  may  then  be  carried  where  it  is  wanted,  and  spread  from  the 
cart.  It  is  still  better,  when  small  quantities  only  are  wanted,  to 
add  it  to  the  compost  after  it  has  been  thoroughly  air-slacked, 
avoiding  fermentation  as  far  as  practicable  after  it  has  been  added, 
as  its  avidity  for  acids  expels  the  ammonia,  which  is  the  most 
valuable  of  the  volatile  ingredients  of  the  muck  heap.  A  thick 
coating  of  earth  over  the  whole,  will  arrest  and  retain  much  of 
the  gas  that  would  otherwise  escape. 

Fresh  burnt  lime  does  not  act  on  the  crops  during  the  first 
year,  and  it  may  be  prepared  for  action  as  well  by  mixing  it  with 
three  or  four  times  its  bulk  of  earth,  as  by  spreading  it  directly 
upon  the  ground. 

Magnesian  Lime. — Many  of  the  limestones  contain  magnesia, 
and  are  called  magnesian  lime.  The  effect  of  this  is  a  more  ener- 
getic action,  and  where  it  is  found  in  lime,  the  same  result  will 
be  produced  by  the  application  of  a  less  quantity.  Oyster  and 
all  other  shells  of  marine  origin,  afford  pure  lime  by  burning. 

The  amount  to  he  used  depends  entirely  on  the  soil.  Some  fer 
tile  lands  contain  over  30  per  cent,  in  their  natural  state.  Eight 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


hundred  bushels  of  hme  per  acre,  have  been  applied  at  one  time 
to  heavy  clays  and  such  soils  as  were  full  of  vegetable  mold, 
with  decided  benefit  to  the  land.  In  the  United  States,  the 
average  for  a  first  dressing,  is  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty  bushels  per  acre ;  which  may  be  renewed  every  four  or 
six  years,  at  the  rate  of  twenty  to  forty  bushels.  If  an  over- 
dose has  been  apphed,  time,  or  the  addition  of  putrescent  or  green 
manures  are  the  only  correctives. 

To  give  lime  its  fullest  effect,  it  should  be  kept  as  near  the 
surface  as  possible;  and  for  this  reason  it  is  well  to  spread  it  after 
plowing,  taking  care  to  harrow  it  well  in.  Allow  it  then  to 
remain  in  grass  as  long  as  possible.  Its  weight  and  minuteness 
give  it  a  tendency  to  sink,  and  after  a  few  years'  cultivation,  a 
large  proportion  of  it  will  be  found  to  have  got  beyond  the 
depth  of  its  most  efficient  action.  This  circumstance  gives  addi- 
tional value  to  the  system  of  under  draining  and  subsoil  plowing, 
which  enable  the  atmosphere  and  roots  to  follow  it,  thus  prolong- 
ing its  effect  and  greatly  augmenting  the  benefit  to  crops.  It 
should  be  spread  upon  the  ground  immediately  after  taking  off 
the  last  crop,  so  as  to  allow  all  the  time  possible  for  its  action 
before  the  next  planting. 

Application  to  Meadows, — In  addition  to  its  other  good  effects, 
lime  like  ashes,  is  useful  to  meadows  in  destroying  the  mosses 
and  decomposing  the  accumulated  vegetable  decay  on  the  sur- 
face. For  this  purpose  it  may  be  spread  on  them  unmixed,  after 
having  first  passed  into  the  state  of  carbonate  or  effete  lime,  to 
prevent  injury  to  the  grass.  If  no  such  necessity  require  its  use 
in  this  form,  it  may  be  combined  advantageously  with  the  muck 
and  scattered  broadcast  over  the  meadow. 

MARLS. 

Marls  are  composed  of  carbonate  of  lime,  mixed  with  clay, 
sand,  or  loam,  and  frequently  with  sulphate  and  phosphate  of 
lime.  They  are  a  useful  application  to  land  in  consequence  of 
the  lime  they  yield,  and  when  containing  the  phosphate  in  addi- 


MANURES. 


53 


tion,  their  value  is  largely  increased.  The  quantity  that  may  be 
advantageously  used  is  even  more  variable  than  that  of  pure 
lime,  inasmuch  as  the  quality  varies  with  every  bed  in  which  it 
is  found.  They  are  adapted  to  the  improvement  of  all  soils, 
unless  such  as  are  already  sufficiently  filled  with  lime,  and  they 
are  more  generally  useful  to  meadows  than  the  pure  carbonate. 
Their  benefits  will  be  greatly  enhanced  if  the  clay  marl  be  used 
on  light  or  sandy  soils,  and  sandy  marls  on  clay  and  heavy  lands. 
From  20  to  400  cart  loads  of  marl  per  acre  have  been  applied, 
according  to  its  quality  and  the  character  of  the  land  to  be  bene- 
fited. Circumstances  must  alone  determine  the  proper  quantity 
to  be  used.  Marl  should  be  carried  out  and  exposed  in  small 
heaps  before  spreading  on  the  land.  Exposure  to  the  sun,  and 
especially  to  the  frosts  of  winter,  is  necessary  to  prepare  it  for 
use. 

SHELL  SAND. 

This  is  a  calcareous  sand,  sometimes  mixed  with  animal  mat- 
ter. It  abounds  in  some  parts  of  the  coast  of  Cornwall,  and  on 
the  western  shores  of  Scotland  and  Ireland.  It  is  also  found  on 
the  coast  of  France,  and  particularly  in  Brittany,  where  it  is 
known  by  the  name  of  trez.  This  produces  prodigious  effects  on 
peaty  clay,  and  other  soils,  to  which  it  is  applied  at  the  rate  of 
10  to  15  tons  per  acre.  It  is  so  much  esteemed  for  the  former, 
that  it  is  sometimes  carried  to  a  distance  of  100  miles.  It  is 
probable  there  are  similar  deposits  on  the  coast  of  some  of  the 
Atlantic  States,  though  we  are  not  aware  of  any  such  applica- 
tion for  agricultural  objects.  Its  great  value  as  a  top  dressing, 
will  fully  justify  exploration,  for  the  purpose  of  detecting  it 
wherever  it  may  exist. 

GREEN  SAND  MARL. 

There  are  extensive  beds  of  a  green  sand  (generally  though 
improperly  termed)  marl,  which  run  through  a  section  of  New 
Jersey,  from  which  farmers  have  derived  an  astonishing  addition 
to  their  crops.  It  is  found  by  analysis  to  contain  but  a  small 
quantity  of  lime,  but  it  readily  yields  a  large  amount  of  potash, 


\ 


54 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


varying  from  6  to  15  per  cent.  From  a  careful  analysis  of  eight 
different  specimens,  Prof.  Eodgers  fomid  in  it  an  average  of  10 
per  cent,  of  potassa.  The  effect  of  this  apphed  to  the  barren 
sands  which  abound  in  that  neighborhood,  has  been  so  favorable, 
that  lands  which  before  could  be  bought  for.  $3  per  acre,  would 
afterwards  bring  $40  to  $100.  Several  deposits  of  green  sand  in 
the  counties  of  Plymouth  and  Barnstable,  Mass.,  similar  in  external 
appearance  to  the  foregoing,  were  explored  by  Prof.  Hitchcock, 
and  specimens  were  analyzed  by  Dr.  Dana,  without  however, 
detecting  any  qualities  of  decided  advantage  to  agriculture. 

GAS  LIME. 

This  is  the  spent  lime  of  the  gas  works,  and  a  most  useful 
top  dressing  for  soils  requiring  lime,  or  gypsum.  It  may  be  drawn 
out  in  the  fall  or  winter  season,  and  if  not  intended  for  composts, 
dumped  in  small  heaps,  and  especially,  if  fresh,  it  should  be 
spread  at  once  upon  the  surface,  so  as  to  be  well  exposed  to  the 
air.  It  may  be  applied  to  either  grass,  or  plowed  crops,  with  equal 
benefit,  operating  in  much  the  same  way  as  gypsum,  although 
it  should  be  spread  in  several  times  the  quantity  per  acre. 
Caution  must  alwavs  attend  its  use,  for  without  several  months 
exposure,  it  exercises  a  poisonous  influence  upon  vegetation. 

GYPSUM  PLASTER  OF  PARIS  OR  SULPHATE  OF  LIME. 

This  is  a  combination  of  lime  with  sulphuric  acid  and  water,  in 
the  proportion  of  28  of  lime,  40  of  acid,  and  18  of  water.  It 
is  frequently  found  in  connection  with  carbonate  of  lime,  clay, 
etc.  The  use  of  gypsum  has  been  attended  with  great  benefit 
in  most  parts  of  the  United  States;  and  by  many  of  the  most 
experienced  farmers,  is  justly  considered  as  indispensable  to  good 
farming.  Like  all  saline,  and  indeed  like  all  other  manures,  it 
acts  beneficially  only  on  soils  which  are  free  from  standing  water, 
or  which  may  be  saturated  with  it.  It  is  felt  most  on  sandy, 
loamy,  and  generally  on  clay  soils,  requiring  more  for  the  latter, 
and  for  all  such  as  contain  a  large  proportion  of  vegetable  mat- 
ter.   From  two  pecks  on  sandy,  to  fifteen  btishels  on  clay  soil 


MANURES. 


55 


have  been  applied  per  acre;  bub  fi'om  two  to  four  busnels  is  the 
usual  quantity. 

The  crops  on  which  it  produces  the  greatest  effect^  are  tbe  red 
and  white  clover,  lucern  and  sainfoin,  and  the  leguminous  plants, 
peas,  beans,  etc.  On  natural  meadows  and  the  cereal  grains,  it 
has  no  perceptible  influence. 

It  should  be  sown  broadcast  as  soon  as  the  leaves  have 
expanded  in  the  spring.  It  takes  four  hundred  and  sixty  times 
its  weight  of  water  to  dissolve  it,  which  shows  the  necessity  of 
applying  it  while  the  early  rains  are  abundant,  and  the  increased 
effect  of  sowing  it  on  the  leaves,  requires  that  its  apphcation 
should  be  deferred  till  they  have  become  partially  developed. 
For  corn,  potatoes,  turnips,  etc.,  it  is  usually  put  in  with  the 
seed,  or  sprinkled  upon  them  after  the  first  hoeing. 

From  its  great  effect  on  the  clovers,  increasing  them  some- 
times to  twice,  and  in  rare  instances,  to  thrice  the  quantity  pro 
duced  without  it,  it  is  manifest  that  it  is  the  most  profitable 
manure  which  can  be  used,  as  it  can  be  generally  procured  by 
farmers  at  from  $5  to  $12  per  ton.  Yet  it  should  be  fully  under- 
stood, that  like  hme  and  ashes,  it  furnishes  only  a  part  of  the 
food  of  plants ;  and  like  them  too,  the  addition  of  vegetable  and 
animal  manures  is  indispensable  to  secure  permanent  fertility. 

Extensive  sections  of  this  and  other  countries,  particularly  in 
Great  Britain,  apparently  derive  no  benefit  from  the  apphcation 
of  gypsum.  This  failure  has  been  variously  ascribed  to  there 
being  already  enough  in  the  soil;  or  to  the  presence  of  a  marine 
atmosphere.  Its  great  usefulness  however,  on  many  parts  of  our 
Atlantic  coast,  would  seem  to  require  some  other  explanation 
than  the  last  as  the  cause  of  its  inefficiency.  Experiment  alone 
can  determine  the  circumstances  which  will  justify  its  application, 
and  to  this  test  should  not  only  this,  but  all  other  practices  of  the 
farmer  be  rigidly  subjected. 

BONES. 

About  .  33  per  cent,  of  fresh  bone,  consists  of  animal  matter, 
(oil,  gelatine,  etc.,)  from  53  to  56  per  cent,  of  phosphate  of 


56 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTUKE. 


lime,  and  the  remainder  is  principally  carbonate  of  lime,  soda  and 
magnesia.  There  is  no  part  of  the  bone  that  is  not  useful  to 
vegetation;  it  is  especially  so  to  the  various  kinds  of  grain,  to 
potatoes,  turnips,  the  clovers,  peas  and  beans.  The  bones  should 
be  crushed  or  ground,  and  then  drilled  in  with  the  seed,  or  scat 
tered  broadcast,  at  the  rate  of  twenty-five  bushels  per  acre. 
They  may  be  repeated  in  less  quantities  every  four  or  five  years, 
or  till  the  soil  ceases  to  be  improved  by  them,  when  they  should 
be  withheld  till  additional  cropping  shall  have  so  far  exhausted 
them  as  to  justify  a  further  supply. 

Bones  are  generally  boiled  before  using  for  manure,  to  extract 
the  oil  and  glue.  This  does  not  lessen  their  value  for  agricultu- 
ral purposes,  beyond  the  diminution  of  their  weight,  while  it 
hastens  their  action.  They  are  sometimes  burned,  which  drives 
off  all  the  organic  matter,  leaving  only  the  lime,  etc.,  to  benefit 
the  soil.  This  is  a  wasteful  practice,  though  the  effect  is  more 
immediate  on  the  crops ;  but  it  is  also  more  transient,  and  they 
require  to  be  more  frequently  renewed.  Bones  ought  always  to 
be  saved;  and  if  not  practicable  to  crush  them,  they  may  be 
thrown  upon  the  land,  where  they  will  gradually  corrode  and 
impart  their  fertilizing  properties.  When  partially  decomposed 
and  buried  just  beneath  the  surface,  the  roots  of  the  luxuriant 
plants  above  will  twine  around  them  in  all  directions,  to  suck  out 
the  rich  food  which  ministers  so  freely  to  their  growth.  Crushed 
bones  are  advantageously  used  with  nearly  an  equal  amount  of 
ashes,  or  with  one-third  their  weight  of  gypsum;  or,  as  with 
nearly  all  other  saline  manures,  they  may  be  added  to  the  muck 
heap.  Pastures  which  have  been  long  grazed,  can  be  wonder- 
fully benefited  by  applications  of  bone  dust,  sowed  broadcast  on 
their  surface,  at  the  rate  of  fifty  to  two  hundred  pounds  per  acre. 

PHOSPHATE  OF  LIME. 

This  exists  in  a  fossil  state,  and  is  known  in  some  of  its  forms  as 
apatite,  phosphorite,  etc.  An  extensive  quarry  is  found  in  Estra- 
madura,  in  Spain,  and  smaller  deposits  of  it  have  been  discov- 


MANURES. 


57 


ered  in  different  parts  of  the  United  States,  under  a  variety  of 
names.  It  is  probable  it  maj  yet  be  found  in  such  localities  and 
in  such  quantity  as  to  be  useful  to  the  farmer.  It  has  been 
shown  that  more  than  half  of  the  whole  weight  of  bones  consists 
of  pure  phosphate  of  lime ;  its  value  therefore  is  apparent.  This 
may  be  applied  to  exhausted  pastures  in  the  same  manner  as 
bone  dust. 

SALT  OR  CHLORIDE  OF  SODIUM, 

Is  variously  obtained,  as  fossil  or  rock  salt;  from  boiling  or 
evaporation  of  salt  springs;  and  from  the  waters  of  the  ocean. 
In  a  pure  state  it  consists  of  60  of  chlorine  and  40  of  sodium, 
in  every  100  parts.  Sodium,  chemically  combined  with  oxygen, 
forms  soda;  and  it  will  be  seen  by  referring  to  the  table  on  page 
45,  that  salt  furnishes  two  of  the  important  constituents  in  the  ash 
of  every  vegetable.  Its  advantage  to  vegetation  is  to  be  inferred 
from  a  knowledge  of  its  composition,  which  is  fully  sustained 
by  experience.  As  a  manure,  salt  was  extensively  used  by  the 
ancients,  and  has  ever  since  been  employed  by  intelligent  agri- 
culturists. On  some  soils  it  yields  no  apparent  benefit.  Such 
as  are  near  the  sea-coast,  and  occasionally  receive  deposits  from 
the  salt  spray,  which  is  often  carried  far  inland  by  the  ocean 
storms ;  or  such  as  contain  chlorine  and  soda  in  any  other  forms, 
are  not  affected  by  it.  But  in  other  situations,  when  used  at  the 
rate  of  three  to  sixteen  bushels  per  acre,  the  crops  of  grains, 
roots  or  grasses  have  been  increased  from  20  to  50  per  cent.  It 
may  be  applied  in  minute  portions  in  the  hill,  or  scattered  broad- 
cast, or  mixed  with  the  muck  heap.  Its  great  affinity  for  water 
has  the  effect,  like  that  of  gypsum,  of  attracting  dews  and  atmos- 
pheric vapor  to  the  growing  vegetation,  by  which  it  is  suppHed 
with  moisture  in  a  period  of  drought,  much  beyond  what  is  con- 
veyed to  such  as  are  destitute  of  these  manures.  Salt  is  also 
useful  in.  destroying  slugs,  worms,  and  larvae  which  frequently  do 
much  injury  to  the  crops. 

3* 


58 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


SULPHATE  OF  SODA,  (gLAUBER  SALTS,)  SULPHATE  OF  MAGNESIA, 
(ePSOM  SALTS,)  AND  SULPHATE  OF  POTASH. 

These  are  all  useful  manures,  and  they  act  on  vegetation  in  a 
manner  similar  to  gypsum.  This  was  to  have  been  expected  so 
far  as  the  sulphuric  acid  is  concerned,  which  is  common  to  each; 
but  their  action  is  modified  to  a  certain  degree  by  the  influence 
of  the  base  or  alkaline  ingredients  on  the  plants.  The  generally 
increased  price  which  they  bear  over  gypsum,  will  prevent  their 
use  away  from  those  localities  where  they  exist  in  a  state  of 
nature,  or  where  they  may  be  procured  at  low  rates,  near  the 
laboratories  in  which  they  are  manufactured. 

NITRATE  OF  POTASH,  (sALTPETRE,)  AND  NITRATE  OF  SODA. 

These  are  both  found  in  a  crude  state  in  native  beds,  or  as  an 
efflorescence ;  and  in  this  condition  they  can  frequently  be  bought 
at  a  price  which  will  justify  their  use.  The  first  contains  potash, 
46J^,  and  nitric  acid,  53)^;  the  second,  in  its  dry  state,  soda,  36)^, 
and  nitric  acid,  63K,  in  every  100  parts.  Numerous  experiments 
have  been  tried  with  them  on  various  crops ;  but  they  have  not 
thus  far,  afforded  very  accurate  or  satisfactory  results.  In  general, 
they  give  a  darker  color  and  more  rapid  growth,  and  they  increase 
the  weight  of  clover,  grass,  and  the  straw  of  grain;  and  the 
former  are  more  rehshed  by  cattle.  But  in  the  average  efi"ects 
upon  grain  and  roots,  the  statements  are  too  much  at  variance  to 
deduce  any  well  settled  principles.* 

As  a  soak  or  steep  for  seeds,  and  especially  when  dissolved  and 
added  to  the  bed  where  they  are  planted,  there  is  no  doubt  of 
iheir  great  value  in  giving  an  early  and  vigorous  start  to  vege- 
tables. This  enables  them  rapidly  to  push  forward  their  roots, 
stems  and  leaves,  thus  obtaining  a  greater  range  for  the  roots,  and 
more  mouths  for  the  leaves  to  draw  their  nourishment  from  the 
atmosphere. 

*  From  the  decidedly  beneficial  effects,  produced  in  numerous  instances,  may  we 
not  reasonably  infer,  that  they  have  generally  been  successful,  where  there  has  been 
a  deficiency  of  them  in  the  soil  ? 


MANURES. 


59 


CARBONATES,   NITRATES,    SULPHATES,    PHOSPHATES,  SILICATES, 

AND  CHLORIDES. 

Se^reral  of  these  have  just  been  particularly  enumerated.  The 
remainder  are  composed  of  carbonic,  nitric,  sulphuric  and  phos- 
phoric acids,  sihca  and  chlorine,  in  chemical  combination  with 
potash,  soda,  lime,  and  the  other  bases  of  plants.  Although  no 
one  of  these  can  fail  to  benefit  crops,  when  rightly  apphed,  yet 
the  expense  of  most  of  them  wiU  prevent  their  extended  use. 
This  can  only  be  looked  for  from  those  which  are  procurable  at  a 
cheap  rate.  The  chemical  laboratories,  glass  works  and  some 
other  manufactories,  afford  in  their  refuse  materials,  more  or  less 
of  these  mineral  manures,  which  would  well  repay  the  farmer  for 
removing  and  applying  to  his  land.  The  most  obvious  that  occur 
in  this  country,  are  all  that  will  be  here  mentioned. 

OLD  LIME  PLASTER,  FROM  WALLS  OF  BUILDINGS,  ETC. 

This  is  a  true  silicate  of  lime,  being  formed  mostly  of  sihceous 
sand  and  lime,  chemically  combined.  For  meadows,  and  for  most 
other  crops,  especially  on  clays  and  loams,  this  is  worth  twice  its 
weight  in  hay;  as  it  will  produce  a  large  growth  of  grass  for 
years  in  succession,  without  other  manure.  This  effect  is  due  not 
only  to  the  hme  and  sand,  but  to  the  nitric  acid  which  they  have 
abstracted  from  the  atmosphere,  and  which  they  continue  alter- 
nately (while  in  combination)  to  absorb  from  the  air  and  give  out 
to  the  growing  plant.  But  the  farmer  cannot  too  carefully  re- 
member, that  with  this,  as  with  all  other  saline  manures,  but  a 
part  of  the  ingredients  only  is  thus  supplied  to  vegetables ;  and 
without  the  addition  of  the  others,  the  soil  will  sooner  or  later 
become  exhausted. 

BROKEN  BRICK  AND  BURNT  CLAY. 

These  are  composed  mostly  of  sihcate  of  alumina,  generally 
mixed  with  sihcate  of  potash  and  other  substances.  They  are 
of  much  value  as  a  top  dressing  for  meadows.  In  addition  to 
their  famishing  in  themselves  a  minute  quantity  of  the  food  of 
plants,  hke  old  plaster,  they  serve  a  much  more  extended  pur- 


60 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


pose,  by  condensing  ammonia,  nitric  acid,  and  the  gases  of  the 
atmosphere. 

POWDERED  CHARCOAL, 

Scattered  over  the  ground,  produces  the  same  effect  as  the 
foregoing,  and  probably  in  a  greater  degree,  as  it  absorbs  and 
condenses  the  nutritive  gases  within  its  pores,  to  the  amount  of 
from  twenty  to  over  eighty  times  its  own  bulk.  The  economy 
and  benefit  of  such  apphcations  can  be  readily  understood,  as 
they  are  continually  gleaning  these  floating  materials  from  the 
air,  and  storing  them  up  as  food  for  plants.  Charcoal  as  well  as 
lime,  often  checks  rust  in  wheat,  and  mildew  in  other  crops ;  and 
in  all  cases  mitigates  their  ravages,  where  it  does  not  wholly 
prevent  them. 

SUPER-PHOSPHATE  OF  LIME. 

This  article  has  of  late  years  become  extensively  used  for  the 
hghter  garden  lands,  and  is  valuable  as  a  ready  and  active  stimu 
lant  to  the  growth  of  plants. 

In  chemistry,  according  to  Professor  Johnson,  of  New  Haven, 
this  is  a  soluble  salt,  composed  of  one  equivalent  of  phosphoric 
acid,  one  of  hme,  and  two  of  water.    It  should  be  the  character 
istic  ingredient  of  commercial  super-phosphate.   All  compositions 
of  this  character  should  be  well  understood  and  used  with  judg 
ment.    So  convenient  are  these  apphcations,  so  active  as  manures, 
and  so  great  the  demand  for  them,  much  fraud  has  been  practiced 
in  their  manufacture ;  spurious  and  almost  worthless  imitations 
have  been  and  are  constantly  imposed  upon  the  pubhc,  in  place 
of  the  genuine  article. 

The  best  super-phosphate  is  composed  of  ground  bone,  bone 
black,  or  phosphorite,  acted  upon  by  sulphuric  acid,  (oil  of  vitriol,) 
which  renders  a  considerable  portion  of  the  phosphoric  acid 
soluble  in  water.  It  is  a  powerful  fertihzer,  as  well  as  portable 
and  convenient,  and  of  great  value  to  the  small  cultivator  and 
gardener,  as  well  as  in  green-houses,  hot-beds,  etc.  It  is  also 
very  extensively  employed  for  field  crops,  especially  for  turnips 


MANURES. 


61 


of  all  kinds,  cabbages,  etc.  In  commerce,  it  is  often  mingled  with 
guano,  and  with  other  commercial  manures.  Animal  matter  of 
any  kind,  properly  treated  with  acids  and  earthy  substances,  afford 
valuable  and  powerful  manures,  sometimes  not  over  agreeable  in 
the  handling,  but  quick  in  their  action  and  lasting  in  the  soil. 

CRUSHED  MICA,  FELDSPAR,  LATA,  THE  TRAP  ROCKS,  ETC. 

Feldspar  contains  66.75  of  silica;  17.50  alumina;  12  potash; 
1.25  lime;  and  0.75  oxide  of  iron.  Mica  consists  of  sihca,  46.22  ; 
alumina,  34.52;  peroxide  of  iron,  6.04;  potash,  8.22;  magnesia 
and  manganese,  2.11.  Most  of  the  lavas  and  trap  rocks  hold 
large  quantities  of  potash,  hme,  and  other  fertihzing  ingredients. 
The  last  frequently  form  the  entire  ^oils  in  volcanic  countries,  as 
in  Sicily,  and  around  Mount  Vesuvius  in  Italy,  in  the  Azores  and 
Sandwich  Islands;  and  their  value  for  grains  and  all  cultivated 
plants  is  seen  in  the  luxuriance  of  their  crops  and  the  durability 
of  their  soils.  These  examples  illustrate  the  great  influence  of 
saline  manures,  and  their  near  approach  to  an  entire  independence 
in  sustaining  vegetation.  Whenever  they  become  exhausted  by 
the  severe  usage  they  undergo,  two  or  three  years  of  rest  enables 
them  again  to  yield  a  remunerating  crop  to  the  improvident  hus- 
bandman. Granite^  sienite^  and  some  other  rocks^  yielding  large 
proportions  of  potash  and  some  lime,  abound  throughout  the 
eastern  portion  of  this  country.  The  potash  in  them  is,  however, 
firmly  held  in  an  insoluble  state ;  but  if  it  be  subjected  to  a  strong 
heat,  it  may  afterwards  be  crushed,  and  then  yield  it  in  an  easily 
soluble  form,  and  constitute  a  valuable  top  dressing  for  lands. 

It  is  a  subject  of  frequent  remark,  that  the  soil  underneath,  or 
in  immediate  contact  with  some  stone  walls,  which  have  been 
erected  for  a  long  period,  is  much  richer  than  the  adjoining  parts 
of  the  same  fields.  This  difference  is  probably  due,  in  some 
measure,  to  the  slow  decomposition  of  important  fertilizers  in  the 
stone,  which  are  washed  down  by  the  rains  and  become  incorpo- 
rated in  the  soil.  The  removal  of  stones  from  a  fertile  field,  has 
been  deprecated  by  many  an  observing  farmer,  as  materially 


62 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


impairing  its  productiveness.  Beyond  the  shade  thus  afforded 
against  an  intense  sun,  protection  from  cold  winds,  their  influence 
in  condensing  moisture,  (and- the  beneficial  effects  which  perhaps 
ensue,  as  in  fibrous  covering^)  the  difference  may  be  attributable 
to  the  same  cause. 

SPENT  LYE  OF  THE  ASHERIES, 

Is  the  liquid  which  remains  after  the  combination  of  the  lye 
and  grease  in  manufacturing  soap.  It  is  of  great  value  for  plants. 
Before  its  apphcation  to  the  land  it  should  be  mixed  with  peat  or 
turf,  or  diluted  with  ten  times  its  bulk  of  water.  Five  gallons  of 
this  lye  is  estimated  to  contain  as  much  potash  or  soda,  according 
as  either  is  used,  as  would  be  furnished  by  three  barrels  of  ashes. 
It  has  besides,  a  large  quantity  of  nitrogen,  the  most  valuable 
ingredient  of  animal  manure,  which  by  judicious  apphcation,  is 
either  converted  into  ammonia,  or  serves  the  same  purpose  in 
yielding  nutrition  to  plants. 

AMMONIAC AL  LIQUOR  (fROM  GAS  HOUSES,)  GAS  LIME,  ETC. 

This  hquid  is  the  residuum  of  bituminous  coal  and  tar  used  in 
making  gas,  and  holds  large  quantities  of  nitrogen,  from  which 
ammonia  is  frequently  extracted.  When  used  for  land  near  by, 
it  maybe  carried  to  the  muck  heap  in  barrels;  and  when  at 
remote  distances,  gypsum  or  charcoal  dust  may  be  added  to  the 
barrel,  stirring  it  well  for  some  time,  and  then  closely  covering  it. 
The  gypsum  and  charcoal  soon  combine  with  the  ammonia,  when 
the  hquid  may  be  drawn  off,  and  the  sohd  contents  removed.  It 
is  a  powerful  manure,  and  should  be  sparingly  used.  Gas  hme 
may  be  laid  in  small  heaps  and  spread  on  the  soil,  or  thrown 
broadcast  from  the  cart  or  wagon.  (See  page  54.) 

GUANO 

Is  derived  exclusively  from  the  animal  creation,  but  from  its 
existence  in  a  highly  condensed  state,  and  in  combination  with 
large  proportions  of  the  salts,  and  having  by  its  accumulation 
through  thousands  of  years,  lost  the  distinguishing  characteristics 


MANURES. 


63 


of  recent  animal  matter,  it  may  almost  be  considered  as  a  fossil, 
and  is  properly  enough  classed  under  the  head  of  inorganic 
manures.  It  is  the  remains  of  the  dung,  feathers,  eggs,  food  and 
carcasses  of  innumerable  flocks  of  marine  birds,  which  have  made 
some  of  the  islands  in  the  Pacific  and  Atlantic  oceans,  places  of 
resort  for  rearing  their  young  through  unknown  ages.  It  is  found 
in  the  Pacific,  near  the  coast  of  Peru,  between  latitude  13°  and 
21°  south,  where  the  rain  never  falls;  and  in  some  places  it  has 
accumulated  to  the  enormous  height  of  60  and  80  feet.  Yet 
such  has  been  the  demand  for  this  justly  popular  fertilizer,  that 
many  million  tons  were  imported  into  England  from  July,  1844, 
to  the  same  period  in  1868,  at  an  average  value  of  $40  per  ton. 
A  comparatively  small  amount  has  been  taken  to  other  countries, 
including  the  United  States.  Its  value  has  been  known  and 
appreciated  fi:om  time  immemorial  by  the  Peruvians,  who  trans- 
ferred it  to  the  continent,  and  used  it  for  various  crops. 

Different  specimens  vary  greatly  as  to  quality.  The  average 
analysis  of  Dr.  Ure's  examinations  is: 

Organic  matter  containing  nitrogen,  including  urate  of  ammonia,  and 
capable  of  affording  from  8  to  IT  per  cent,  of  ammonia  by  slow  change 
in  the  soil,  50 

Water  11.   Phosphate  of  lime  25,  36 

Ammonia,  phosphate  of  magnesia,  phosphate  of  ammonia  and  oxalate 
of  ammonia,  containing  from  4  to  9  per  cent,  of  ammonia,      .      .  13 

Silicious  matter  from  the  crops  of  birds,  1 

loo 

The  above  analysis  shows  a  strongly  concentrated  manure,  and 
it  is  certain  it  is  much  above  the  medium,  as  the  sand  alone  is 
sometimes  15  or  20  per  cent.  It  is  applied  to  roots,  grain,  and 
other  cultivated  crops,  and  as  a  top  dressing  for  grass ;  ^but  it  has 
thus  far  proved  of  most  value  to  the  former.  Before  using  it  as 
a  top  dressing,  it  is  mixed  with  twice  its  bulk  of  fine  earth,  ashes, 
plaster  or  charcoal  dust.  The  proper  quantity  is  fi*om  200  to  400 
lbs.  per  acre,  sown  broadcast  and  harrowed  in,  or  supphed  in  two 
dressings ;  the  first  soon  after  the  plants  appear,  but  not  in  contact 
with  them;  the  last,  ten  or  fourteen  days  after,  and  immediately 


64 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


before  moist  or  wet  weather.  The  crops  on  poor  soils  are  muck 
improved,  while  those  on  rich  lands  have,  in  some  cases,  been 
injured  by  it.  For  hot  houses  and  many  minor  purposes,  it  is  a 
desirable  manure,  and  in  solution  it  is  very  convenient  as  an 
occasional  dressing.  It  is  thus  prepared  by  dissolving  4  lbs.  in 
12  gallons  of  water,  twenty-four  hours  before  using.  On  account 
of  its  volatile  character,  it  should  be  closely  covered  till  wanted. 

SOOT, 

Like  ashes,  has  its  origin  exclusively  from  vegetables,  but  may 
with  them,  be  properly  treated  under  the  present  head.  It  holds 
ammonia,  charcoal  and  other  rich  ingredients,  and  is  used  at  the 
rate  of  fifty  to  three  hundred  bushels  per  acre.  It  produces  its 
greatest  effects  in  moist  weather,  and  in  dry  seasons  it  has  some- 
times proved  positively  injurious.  It  may  be  sown  broadcast  over 
the  field  and  harrowed  in,  or  mixed  with  such  other  manures  as 
are  intended  for  immediate  use.  The  ammonia  has  a  great  ten- 
dency to  escape,  which  can  only  be  prevented  by  adequate 
absorbents,  as  earth  or  the  Hke.  Many  experiments  made  with  it 
have  proved  contradictory.  In  some,  it  has  been  shown  to  be 
useless  for  clovers,  while  it  has  proved  of  great  service  to  several 
of  the  grasses.  Salt  enhances  its  efiects.  In  an  experiment  made 
in  England  with  potatoes,  on  three  separate  acres  of  land  of  equal 
quality,  one  without  manure  gave  160  bushels;  one  manured 
with  30  bushels  of  soot,  yielded  196;  and  the  third,  which 
received  the  same  quantity  of  soot  and  seven  bushels  of  salt, 
yielded  236. 


CHAPTER  III. 


OKGAKIC  MANUKES. 

THE  PRINCIPLES  CONSTITUTINO  ANIMAL  AND  VEGETABLE, 
PUTRESCENT  OR  ORGANIC  MANURES. 

From  the  table  in  the  foregoing  pages,  on  the  ashes  of  plants, 
to  which  reference  has  been  frequently  made,  it  is  shown  that  in 
burning  dried  vegetables,  they  lose  from  about  95  to  99  per  cent, 
of  their  whole  weight.  The  matter  that  has  been  expelled  by 
heat,  consists  of  four  substances  or  ultimate  principles:  carbon, 
oxygen,  hydrogen  and  nitrogen,  of  which  carbon  makes  up  from 
40  to  50  per  cent,  or  about  one-half  of  the  whole. 

Carbon  constitutes  all" of  charcoal  but  the  ash;  nearly  all  of 
mineral  coal,  and  plumbago  or  black  lead  j  and  even  the  brilliant 
diamond  is  but  another  form  of  carbon.  The  properties  and 
uses  of  carbon  are  various  and  important ;  its  agency  in  the 
growth  of  plants  alone  concerns  us  at  the  present  time. 

Carbonic  Acid. — When  any  matter  containing  carbon  is  burnt, 
its  minute  particles  or  atoms  combine  with  the  oxygen  which 
exists  in  the  atmosphere,  and  form  carbonic  acid,  consisting  by 
weight,  of  six  of  the  former  and  sixteen  of  the  latter.  When 
animals  inhale  air  into  their  lungs  a  similar  union  takes  place , 
the  carbon  contained  in  the  system  being  brought  to  the  surface 
of  the  lungs,  and  after  uniting  with  the  oxygen  as  carbonic  acid, 
is  expelled.  Pure  limestone  or  marble  loses  46  per  cent,  of  its 
weight  by  burning;  and  all  of  this  loss  is  carbonic  acid,  which  it 
slowly  absorbs  again  on  exposure  to  the  air,  or  to  such  substances 
as  contain  it.    It  is  evolved  by  fermentation,  and  if  the  surface 


66 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


of  a  brewer's  vat  in  full  activity  be  closely  observed  in  a  clear 
light,  it  may  be  seen  falling  over  the  edges,  when  it  gradually 
mingles  with  the  air.  Its  density  is  such  that  it  may  be  poured 
from  one  open  vessel  into  another,  without  material  loss.  It  is 
this  which  gives  to  artificial  soda  water  and  to  mineral  springs 
(as  the  Saratoga)  their  sparkling  appearance  and  acid  flavor.  It 
abounds  in  certain  caves,  sunken  pits,  and  wells,  which  destroy 
animal  life,  both  from  its  intrinsic  poisonous  qualities,  and  from 
its  excluding  oxygen,  which  is  essential  to  respiration.  And  it 
is  from  the  same  cause,  that  death  ensues  to  such  as  are  confined 
in  a  close  room  where  charcoal  is  burnt. 

This  acid  is  an  active  and  important  agent  in  the  incessant 
changes  of  nature.  It  is  everywhere  formed  in  vast  quantities, 
by  subterranean  fires  and  volcanoes.  Though  heavier  than 
atmospheric  air,  it  mingles  with  it  and  is  carried  as  high  as  exam- 
inations have  yet  been  made,  constituting  in  bulk,  about  one  part 
in  one  thousand  of  the  atmosphere,  and  something  more  than 
this  in  weight.  Gay  Lussac  ascended  in  a  balloon  21,735  feet, 
and  there  filled  a  bottle  with  air,  which  analysis  showed  to  be 
identical  in  composition  with  that  on  the  surface  of  the  earth. 
Carbon  is  one  of  the  great  principles  of  vegetation,  and  it  is  only 
as  carbonic  acid,  that  it  is  absorbed  by  the  roots,  leaves  and  stems 
of  vegetables,  and  by  them  is  condensed  and  retained  as  solid 
matter. 

Oxygen,  hydrogen  and  nitrogen,  when  uncombined  with  other 
substances,  exist  only  as  gases.  The  first  makes  up  nearly  one- 
half  of  all  the  substances  of  the  globe;  and  with  the  exception 
of  chlorine  and  iodine,  it  constitutes  a  large  part  of  every  material 
in  the  ash  of  plants.  It  forms  rather  over  21  per  cent,  by 
measure,  and  23  by  weight  of  the  whole  atmosphere;  and  about 
eight  parts  out  of  nine  by  weight  of  water,  hydrogen  making  up 
the  remainder.  It  is  absorbed  and  changed  into  new  products  by 
the  respiration  of  animals,  and  it  is  an  essential  agent  in  com- 
bustion. Oxides  are  composed  of  it  in  union  with  the  metals, 
alkalies,  etc. ;  and  most  of  the  acids,  as  when  combined  with 


ORGANIC  MANURES.  67 

other  substances,  nitrogen,  sulphur  and  phosphorus.  Its  presence 
indeed,  is  almost  universal,  and  the  a'gency  which  it  exerts  in 
vegetable  nutrition,  is  among  the  most  varied  and  intricate  mani- 
fested in  vegetable  life. 

Hydrogen  is  the  lightest  of  all  the  gases.  It  is  but  one- 
fourteenth  the  weight  of  the  atmosphere,  and  one-sixteenth  the 
weight  of  oxygen ;  and  from  its  great  levity,  it  is  used  for  filling 
balloons.  It  burns  with  a  hght  flame  when  brought  into  contact 
with  atmospheric  air  on  applying  a  lighted  taper,  the  combustion 
forming  water. 

It  is  largely  evolved  from  certain  springs,  in  connection  with 
carbon  or  sulphur,  and  is  called  carbureted  and  sulphureted  hydro- 
gen, an  offensively  pungent  and  inflammable  gas.  So  abund 
antly  is  this  emitted  from  the  earth  in  some  places,  that  it  is  used 
for  economical  purposes.  The  inhabitants  at  Fredonia,  N.  Y., 
and  in  the  petroleum  oil  regions  of  Pennsylvania  and  other 
States,  light  their  buildings  with  it,  and  in  the  oil  pumpings 
use  it  as  fuel;  and  some  of  the  salt  manufacturers  in  the 
valley  of  the  Ohio,  apply  it  to  evaporating  the  water  of  the 
saline  springs.  Carbureted  hydrogen  is  the  gas  now  employed 
for  lighting  cities.  It  is  manufactured  from  oils,  fat,  tar,  rosin, 
and  bituminous  coal,  all  of  which  yield  large  quantities  of  carbon 
and  hydrogen.  Both  the  carbon  and  hydrogen  are  entirely 
consumed  with  a  brilliant  hght,  when  inflamed  and  exposed  to 
the  oxygen  of  the  atmosphere.  It  is  the  residuum  of  these  sub- 
stances, after  driving  off  the  gas,  which  makes  the  ammoniacal 
liquor  so  useful  as  a  manure ;  all  the  nitrogen  with  a  part  of  the 
hydrogen,  remaining.  In  combination  with  chlorine,  one  of  the 
elements  of  salt,  it  constitutes  the  muriatic,  oi^  of  the  strongest 
of  the  acids. 

Ammonia. — The  most  frequent  condition  besides  water  in 
which  hydrogen  is  mentioned  in  connection  vith  vegetation,  is 
when  combined  with  nitrogen  in  the  proportion  of  three  of  the 
former  in  bulk,  to  one  of  the  latter;  and  by  weight,  17.47  of  the 
first,  to  82.53  of  the  last,  in  every  100  parts,  composing  the 


68 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


volatile  alkali,  ammonia,  whicli  is  about  six-tenths  the  density  of 
the  atmosphere.  Bj  strong  compression  at  a  low  temperature,  it 
may  be  condensed  to  a  Hquid  having  rather  more  than  three- 
fourths  the  specific  weight  of  water.  It  is  never  found  in  a  tan- 
gible shape,  except  in  combination  with  acids,  forming  carbonates, 
nitrates,  sulphates,  muriates,  etc.,  of  ammonia. 

Nitrogen  exists  in  the  atmosphere  to  the  extent  of  about  79 
per  cent.  The  principal  purpose  it  appears  to  fulfill  in  this  con- 
nection, is  in  diluting  the  oxygen,  which  in  its  pure  state  acts  with 
too  great  intensity  on  animal  life,  in  combustion,  and  all  its  various 
combinations.  So  great  is  the  attraction  of  undiluted  oxygen  for 
iron,  that  a  wire  ignited  by  a  taper  and  plunged  into  a  jar  of 
oxygen  gas,  will  itself  take  fire  and  rapidly  melt  into  irregular 
drops.  This  is  nothing  more  than  an  illustration  of  the  principle 
exhibited  (in  an  intense  degree)  in  the  gradual  rusting  which 
takes  place  in  the  air  at  its  ordinary  temperature ;  or  the  more 
rapid  formation  of  the  scales  under  the  heat  of  the  blacksmith's 
forge.  All  are  simple  oxidations  of  the  metal,  or  the  combination 
of  oxygen  with  iron ;  and  we  see  in  the  comparison,  the  immensely 
accelerated  effect  produced  by  the  absence  of  nitrogen. 

Nitric  acid  is  another  compound  of  great  importance  to  veg- 
etation. It  is  simply  nitrogen  and  oxygen;  the  identical  materials 
which  compose  the  atmosphere,  combined  in  different  proportions, 
26.15  parts  by  weight  of  the  former,  and  73.85  of  the  latter  in 
every  100.  This  acid,  in  union  with  potash,  forms  nitrate  of 
potash,  or  saltpetre;  and  with  soda,  forms  nitrate  of  soda.  The 
latter  occurs  in  immense  beds,  and  lies  upon  and  immediately  under 
the  surface  of  the  earth  in  Chih,  India  and  Spain.  From  Chili  it 
is  exported  in  laige  quantities,  and  has  been  extensively  used  in 
England  of  late  years,  as  a  manure. 

It  has  been  deemed  relevant  to  our  subject  to  say  thus  much 
respecting  some  of  the  most  striking  characteristics  of  those  four 
simple  principles,  which  make  up  an  average  of  more  than  98  per 
cent,  of  all  living  vegetables.  And  here  a  moment's  reflection 
irresistibly  forces  from  us  an  expression  of  wonder  and  admiration 


/ 


ORGANIC  MANURES. 


69 


at  that  "Wisdom  and  Omnipotence,  which,  out  of  such  Hmited 
means,  has  wrought  such  varied  and  beautiM  results.  Every 
plant  that  exists,  from  the  obscure  sea-weed  100  fathoms  below 
the  surface  of  the  ocean,  to  the  lofty  pines  that  shoot  up  300  feet 
in  mid  air;  and  from  the  clinging  moss  that  seems  almost  a  part 
of  the  rock  on  which  it  grows,  to  the  expanded  banyan  tree  of 
India,  with  its  innumerably  connected  trunks,  overshadowing 
acres;  every  thing  that  is  pleasant  to  the  taste,  deHghtful  to  the 
eye,  and  gratefrd  to  the  smell,  equally  with  whatever  is  nauseous, 
revolting  and  loathsome,  are  only  products  of  the  same  materials, 
slightly  differing  in  association  and  arrangement. 

BARN-YARD  MANURE. 

The  first  consideration  in  the  management  of  manures,  is  to 
secure  them  against  all  waste.  The  bulk,  solubility  and  peculiar 
tendency  to  fermentation  of  barn-yard  manure,  renders  it  a  matter 
of  no  little  study  so  to  arrange  it  as  to  preserve  all  its  good  qual- 
ities and  apply  it  undiminished  to  the  soil.  A  part  of  the  droppings 
of  the  cattle  are  necessarily  left  in  the  pastures,  or  about  the  stacks 
where  they  are  fed;  though  it  is  better,  for  various  reasons,  that 
they  should  never  receive  their  food  from  the  stack.  The  manure 
thus  left  in  the  fields,  should  be  beaten  up  and  scattered  with  light 
long-handled  mallets,  immediately  after  the  grass  starts  in  the 
spring,  and  again  before  the  rains  commence  in  the  autumn.  With 
these  exceptions,  and  the  slight  waste  which  may  occur  in  driving 
cattle  to  and  from  the  pasture,  all  the  manure  should  be  dropped 
either  in  the  stables  or  yards.  These  should  be  so  arranged  that 
cattle  may  pass  from  one  directly  into  the  other ;  and  the  yard 
should,  if  possible,  be  fiirnished  with  wells,  cisterns,  or  running 
water.  There  is  twice  the  value  of  manure  wasted  annually  on 
some  farms  in  sending  the  cattle  abroad  to  water,  that  would  be 
required  to  provide  it  for  them  in  the  yard  for  fifty  years. 

The  premises  where  the  manure  is  dropped,  should  be  kept  as 
dry  as  possible;  and  the  eaves  should  project  several  feet  beyond 
the  side  of  the  building  so  as  to  protect  the  manure  thrown  out 


70 


AMERICAN  AaRICULTURE. 


of  the  stables,  from  tlie  wash  of  rains.  The  barns  and  all  the 
sheds  should  have  eave-troughs  to  carry  off  the  water,  which  if 
saved  in  a  sufficiently  capacious  cistern,  would  furnish  a  supply 
for  the  cattle.  The  form  of  the  yard  ought  to  be  dishing  towards 
the  center,  and  if  on  sandy  or  gravelly  soil,  it  should  be  puddled 
or  covered  with  clay  to  prevent  the  leaking  and  escape  of  the 
liquid  manure.  The  floors  of  the  stables  may  be  so  made,  as  to 
permit  the  urine  to  fall  on  a  properly  prepared  bed  of  turf  under 
them,  where  it  would  be  retained  till  removed;  or  it  should  be 
led  off  by  troughs  into  the  yard  or  to  a  muck  heap. 

It  is  better  to  feed  the  straw  and  coarse  fodder,  which  can  always 
be  advantageously  done  by  cutting  and  mixing  it  with  meal  or 
roots.  When  it  is  not  thus  consumed,  it  may  first  be  used  as 
htter  for  the  cattle,  and  as  it  becomes  saturated  with  the  drop- 
pings, it  should  be  thrown  into  the  yard.  If  the  cattle  are  fed 
under  sheds,  the  whole  surface  ought  to  be  covered  with  such 
straw,  refuse  forage,  etc.,  as  can  be  collected;  and  if  there  is  a 
deficiency  of  these,  peat  or  any  turf  well  filled  with  the  roots  of 
grass,  and  especially  the  rich  wash  from  the  road  side  maybe, 
substituted.  The  manure  may  be  allowed  to  accumulate  through 
the  winter,  unless  it  be  more  convenient  to  carry  it  on  to  the 
fields.  "When  the  warm  weather  approaches,  a  close  attention  to 
the  manure  is  necessary.  The  escape  of  the  fi:ost  permits  circu- 
lation of  the  air  through  it,  and  the  increasing  heat  of  the  sun 
promotes  its  decomposition. 

LoNa  AND  Short  Manure. — The  question  has  been  ofi:en 
mooted  as  to  the  comparative  advantages  of  long  and  short 
manure,  {the  fermented  and  unfermented.)  This  must  depend  on 
the  use  for  which  they  are  designed.  If  intended  for  the  garden 
beds,  or  for  loose  light  soils,  or  as  a  top  dressing  for  meadows,  or 
any  crops,  or  if  needed  to  kill  any  noxious  seeds  incorporated 
with  the  heap,  it  should  be  fermented;  if  for  hoed  crops  in  clay 
or  loamy  soils,  it  should  be  used  in  as  fresh  condition  as  possible. 
Loose  soils  are  still  farther  loosened  for  a  time  by  long  manure, 
and  much  of  its  volatile  part  is  lost  before  it  is  reduced  to  mold ; 


ORGANIC  MANURES. 


71 


while  adhesive  and  compact  soils  are  improved  by  the  coarse 
vegetables  which  tend  to  their  separation ;  and  all  the  gases  which 
are  set  free  in  fermentation,  are  combined  and  firmly  held  in  the 
soil. 

Decomposition  of  Manures. — Three  conditions  are  essential 
to  produce  rapid  decomposition  in  manure :  air,  moisture,  and  a 
temperature  above  65°,  and  these,  except  in  frosty  weather,  are 
generally  present  in  the  heap.  The  gradual  chemical  changes 
going  on  in  all  manures,  but  most  actively  in  the  excrements  of 
the  horse  and  sheep,  where  they  have  sufficient  air  and  moisture, 
induce  an  elevation  which  keeps  them  always  above  the  low 
temperature  of  the  surrounding  air.  If  the  manure  be  trodden 
compactly  and  saturated  with  water,  the  air  cannot  circulate,  and 
if  its  temperature  be  likewise  kept  down,  it  will  be  preserved  a 
long  time  unchanged. 

The  fermentation  of  manure  should  go  forward  when  thoroughly 
blended  with  all  the  vegetable  and  liquid  fertihzers  about  the 
premises,  including  urine,  brine,  soap-suds,  ashes,  gypsum  and 
coal  dust ;  the  last  three  substances  combining  with  the  ammonia 
as  it  is  formed.  Over  all  these  should  be  placed  a  good  coating 
of  turf,  peat,  or  fine  mold,  which  will  absorb  any  gases  that  escape 
the  gypsum,  etc.  Old  mortar  or  eSete  lime  may  also  be  added 
for  the  formation  of  nitric  acid.  It  draws  this  not  only  from  the 
materials  in  the  heap,  but  largely  also  from  the  nitrogen  of  the 
air,  it  having  been  ascertained  in  the  manufacture  of  saltpetre, 
(nitrate  of  potash,)  that  the  amount  of  nitrogen  in  the  salt,  is 
greatly  increased  above  that  in  the  manure  used.  The  absorption 
of  nitre  by  lime  in  a  course  of  years,  is  found  to  be  large,  as  is 
seen  by  the  practice  of  the  Chinese  farmers,  who  to  secure  it  will 
gratuitously  remove  the  old  plaster  on  wtlls  and  replace  it  with 
new.  If  required  to  hasten  decay,  and  especially  if  there  be 
intractable  vegetables,  as  broom  and  other  cornstalks,  or  such  as 
have  seeds  that  ought  to  be  destroyed,  they  may  be  well  moistened 
and  thrown  together  in  layers  three  or  four  inches  thick,  and  on 
each  may  be  strewn  a  liberal  coating  of  fresh  unslacked  hme, 


72 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


reduced  to  powder.  This  promotes  decomposition,  and  wlien  it 
is  far  enough  advanced,  the  whole  may  be  sparingly  added  to  the 
general  mass,  as  the  lime  will  by  that  time  have  become  mild. 
These  coarse  materials,  when  remote  from  the  cattle  yard,  may  be 
at  once  burned,  and  the  ashes  added  to  the  soil,  or  they  may  be 
buried  in  furrows,  where  the  ground  will  not  be  disturbed,  till 
they  are  entirely  rotted. 

When  thoroughly  decomposed,  the  manure  heap  will  have  lost 
half  its  original  weight,  most  of  which  has  escaped  as  water  and 
carbonic  acid.  It  may  then  be  carted  on  to*  the  ground,  and  at 
once  incorporated  with  it ;  or  if  intended  for  a  top  dressing,  it 
should  be  scattered  over  it  immediately  before  or  during  wet 
weather.  For  the  protection  of  the  manure,  it  would  be  well  to 
cover  it  with  a  roof  and  convey  off  all  the  water  from  the  eaves. 
This  will  prevent  any  waste  of  the  soluble  matter,  and  promote 
the  escape  of  moisture  by  the  free  circulation  of  air,  which  to  the 
extent  of  this  evaporation,  will  lessen  the  labor  of  hauling. 

Tanks  for  HOLDma  Liquid  Manure  have  long  been  in  use. 
They  should  be  convenient  to  the  stalls  and  yards,  and  tight  drains 
should  convey  into  them  every  particle  of  the  urine  and  drainage 
from  the  manure.  In  compact  clay  they  may  be  made  by  simply 
excavating  the  earth,  and  the  sides  can  be  kept  from  falling  in,  by 
a  rough  wall,  or  by  planks  supported  in  an  upright  position  by  a 
framework  of  joist.  But  in  all  cases  the  cisterns  should  be  closely 
covered  to  prevent  the  escape  of  the  ammonia,  which  is  developed 
while  fermenting.  In  porous  soils,  it  is  necessary  to  construct 
them  with  stone  or  brick  laid  in  water-lime  or  cement. 

When  partially  filled,  fermentation  will  soon  take  place  in  the 
tank,  and  especially  in  warm  weather;  gypsum  or  charcoal  should 
then  be  thrown  in  to*absorb  the  ammonia.  A  few  days  after 
decomposition  commences,  it  should  be  pumped  into  casks  and 
carried  on  to  the  land.  If  intended  for  watering  plants,  it  must 
be  diluted  sufficiently  to  prevent  injury  to  them.  The  quantity 
will  depend  on  the  strength  of  the  liquid,  and  the  time  it  is  applied, 
much  less  water  being  necessary  to  dilute  it  in  a  wet  than  in  a 


ORGANIC  MANURES. 


73 


dij  time.  By  fermenting  in  the  open  air  and  undiluted,  it  has 
been  found  that  in  six  weeks,  cow's  urine  will  lose  nearly  one-half 
of  its  solid  matter  or  salts,  and  six-sevenths  of  its  ammonia ;  while 
that  which  had  been  mixed  with  an  equal  quantity  of  water,  lost 
only  one-eighteenth  of  the  former  and  one-ninth  of  the  latter. 
The  stables  and  troughs  leading  to  the  tank  should  be  frequently 
washed  down  and  sprinkled  with  gypsum.  This  last  will  absorb 
much  of  the  ammonia  which  would  otherwise  escape.  Some  loss 
of  the  volatile  matter  must  be  expected,  and  the  sooner  it  is  used 
after  proper  fermentation,  or  ripeness,  as  it  is  termed,  the  greater 
will  be  the  economy. 

Liquid  Manure  applied  to  the  muck  heap. — As  a  general 
rule,  it  is  more  economical  and  a  great  saving  of  labor  to  keep 
the  urine  above  ground  and  mix  it  at  once  with  the  manure;  but 
in  this  case  vegetable  or  earthly  absorbents  must  be  adequately 
supphed;   and  in  addition,  the  heap  ought  frequently  to  be 
sprinkled  with  gypsum  or  charcoal.    Rich  turf,  the  wash  of  the 
roadside,  tan-bark  or  sawdust,  and  all  refuse  vegetables  may  be 
used  for  this  purpose,  and  so  placed  that  the  hquid  can  run  on  to 
•  them,  or  be  deposited  where  it  can  be  poured  over  it.    The  same 
protection  of  a  rough  open  shed  should  be  given  to  this  as  to  the 
other  heaps,  to  facihtate  evaporation  and  prevent  drenching  from 
rains.    When  fully  saturated  with  the^  urinary  salts,  and  all  is 
properly  decomposed,  it  may  be  carried  out  for  use,  or  closely 
covered  with  earth  till  wanted.    The  decomposition  is  in  a  great 
measure  arrested  by  covering  with  compact  earth,  thoroughly 
trodden  together;  this  prevents  the  access  of  air,  which  is  essen 
tial  to  its  progress. 

A  simple  yet  economical  mode  of  saving  the  hquid  manure,  is 
sometimes  adopted  in  Scotland,  and  is  thus  detailed : 

^'Divide  a  shed  into  two  compartments,  one  of  which  we  make 
water-tight,  by  puddhng  the  side  walls  with  clay  to  the  height, 
say,  of  two  feet,;  and  separated  from  the  other  compartment  by  a 
low  water-tight  wall  or  boarding.  This  is  my  fermenting  tank, 
which  is  filled  half  or  three  parts  full  of  pulverized  burnt  peat, 
4 


74 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


and  the  liquid  manure  from  the  stable,  pig-styes,  etc.,  directed 
into  it.    This  is  mixed  up  with  the  pulverized  peat,  and  allowed 
to  remain  three  or  four  weeks,  till  the  decomposition  seems  about 
completed,  being  occasionally  stirred  about  after  the  composition 
has  become  about  the  consistency  of.  gruel.    The  whole  is  then 
ladled  (with  a  pole  and  bucket)  over  the  low  partition  into  the 
second  floor,  which  is  also  three  parts  filled  with  the  carbon- 
ized  peat;  and  as  the  second  floor  is  meant  merely  as  a  filter,  we 
have  it  lower  on  one  side  than  the  other,  by  which  means,  in  the 
course  of  a  day  or  two,  the  carbonized  peat  is  left  comparatively 
dry.    The  water  having  passed  off  at  the  lower  side,  the  first  or 
fermenting  floor  is  again  filled  as  before,  and  the  contents  of  the 
second  floor,  if  considered  saturated  enough,  are  then  shovelled 
up  into  a  corner,  and  allowed  to  drip,  and  further  dry  till  used, 
which  may  be  either  immediately,  or  at  the  end  of  twenty  years, 
as  scarcely  anything  will  affect  it,  if  not  exposed  to  the  con- 
tinued washing  of  pure  water,  or  exposed  to  the  influence  of  the 
roots  of  growing  plants.    By  being  thinly  spread  on  a  granary 
floor,  it  soon  becomes  perfectly  dry,  and  suited   to  pass  through 
drill  machines. 

"The  mixing  of  the  carbonized  peat  with  the  liquid  manure 
on  the  first  or  fermenting  floor,  it  will  be  observed,  is  for  laying 
hold  of  the  gaseous  matters  as  they  escape  during  the  fermenta- 
tion ;  perhaps  other  substances  may  effect  this  more  effectually, 
but  none  so  cheaply.  I  think  by  this  plan  it  will  be  obvious  to 
every  one  that  a  great  many  desiderata  are  at  once  obtained.  In 
the  first  place,  you  get  free  of  over  nine  hundred  parts  out  of 
every  one  thousand  of  the  weight  and  bulk  of  manure,  by  the 
expulsion  of  the  water;  w4nle  at  the  same  time  you  hnk  all  the 
fertilizing  properties  contained  in  it  to  one  of  the  most  handy 
vehicles — ^light,  cleanly,  and  portable,  and  possessed  of  the 
peculiar  property  of  holding  together  the  most  volatile  substances, 
till  gradually  called  forth  by  the  exigencies  of  the  growing  plants. 
Lastly,  you  get  free  of  the  tank,  hogshead  and  watering  cart, 
with  all  its  appendages,  and  are  no  more  bothered  with  over- 


ORGANIC  MANURES. 


75 


flowing  tank,  or  overfermented  liquid,  with  weather  unsuited  to 
its  application.  You  have  merely  to  shovel  past  the  saturated 
charcoal,  and  shovel  in  a  little  fresh  stuff,  and  the  process  goes 
on  again,  while  the  prepared  stuffs  He  ready  for  all  crops,  all  sea- 
sons, and  all  times."  The  best  way  of  distributing  hquid  manure 
on  the  land,  is  by  a  hogshead  on  wheels,  in  the  same  manner 
as  streets  are  watered. 

Value  of  Liquid  Manures. — The  urine  voided  from  a  single 
cow  is  considered  in  Flanders,  where  agricultural  practice  has 
reached  a  high  state  of  advancement,  to  be  worth  $10  per  year. 
It  furnishes  nine  hundred  pounds  of  sohd  matter,  and  at  the  price 
of  $50  per  ton,  for  which  guano  is  frequently  sold,  the  urine  of 
a  cow  for  one  year  is  worth  $20.  And  yet  economical  farmers 
will  continue  to  waste  urine  and  buy  guano !  "  The  urine  of  a  cow 
for  a  year  will  manure  one  and  a  quarter  acres  of  land,  and  is  more 
valuable  than  its  dung,  in  the  ratio  by  bulk,  of  seven  to  six  ,•  and 
in  real  value  as  two  to  one." — Dana.  How  important  then, 
that  every  particle  of  it  be  carefully  husbanded  for  the  crops. 

The  average  urine  of  the  cow,  as  analyzed  by  Sprengel,  con- 
tains 92.6  per  cent,  of  water;  that  of  the  horse,  94;  the  sheep, 
96;  the  hog,  92.6;  and  the  human,  93.3.  The  remainder  is 
composed  of  salts  and  rich  vegetable  food;  but  the  human  is  far 
richer  in  these  than  any  other.  The  quantity  and  value  of  urine 
varies  much,  and  depends  on  the  food  and  liquid  taken  into  the 
stomach,  the  loss  by  perspiration,  etc. 

Solid  Animal  Manures. — Of  these  Horse  dung  is  the  rich- 
est and  the  easiest  to  decompose.  If  in  heaps,  fermentation  will 
sometimes  commence  in  twenty-four  hours;  and  even  in  mid- 
w^inter,  if  a  large  pile  be  accumulated,  it  will  proceed  with  great 
rapidity;  and  if  not  arrested,  a  few  weeks  under  favorable  cir- 
cumstances, are  sufficient  to  reduce  it  to  a  small  part  of  its  orig- 
inal weight  and  value.  Boussingault,  one  of  the  most  careful 
observers  of  nature,  as  well  as  an  accurate  experimental  chemist, 
states  the  nitrogen  in  fresh  dried  horse  dung  to  be  2.7  per  cent. 
The  same  manure  laid  in  a  thick  stratum  and  permitted  to 


76 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTUBE. 


undergo  entire  decomposition,  loses  nine-tenths  of  its  whole  weight, 
and  the  remaining  tenth  when  dried,  gives  only  one  per  cent,  of 
nitrogen.  Such  are  the  losses  which  follow  the  neglect  of  incon- 
siderate farmers.  Peculiar  care  should  therefore  be  taken  to 
arrest  this  action  at  the  precise  point  desired. 

The  manure  of  Sheep  is  rich  and  very  active,  and  next  to  that 
of  the  horse  is  the  most  subject  to  heat  and  decompose.  The 
manure  of  Cattle  and  Swine  being  of  a  colder  nature,  may  be 
thrown  in  with  that  of  the  horse  and  sheep  in  alternate  layers. 
If  fresh  manure  be  intermixed  with  straw  and  other  absorbents, 
(vegetables,  peat,  turf,  etc.,)  and  constantly  added,  the  recent  coat- 
ing will  combine  with  any  volatile  matters  which  fermentation 
develops  in  the  lower  part  of  the  mass.  Frequent  turning  of 
the  manures  is  a  practice  attended  with  no  benefit,  but  with  the 
certainty  of  the  escape  of  much  of  its  valuable  properties. 
Many  farmers  assign  a  distinct  or  peculiar  merit  to  the  different 
manures.  Much  of  this  opinion  is  fanciful,  for  there  is  frequently 
more  difference  in  the  comparative  value  of  that  from  the  same 
species,  and  even  the  same  individual,  at  different  times  and 
under  different  circum^stances,  than  from  those  of  different  species. 

The  diversity  in  manures  may  arise  from  several  causes.  The 
more  thoroughly  the  food  is  digested  and  its  nutritive  qualities 
extracted,  the  less  is  the  value  of  the  manure.  Thus  on  the 
same  quantity  and  quality  of  food,  a  growing  animal,  or  a  cow 
in  calf,  or  giving  milk,  yields  a  poorer  quality  of  foeces,  than  such 
as  are  not  increasing  in  weight,  and  if  the  animal  be  actually 
losing  condition,  the  richness  of  the  manure  is  very  much 
increased.  The  quality  of  food  adds  materially  to  this  difference, 
the  richest  giving  by  far  the  most  valuable  manure.  Those  ani- 
mals which  are  kept  on  a  scanty  supply  of  straw  or  refuse  hay, 
yield  manure  little  better  than  good  turf,  and  far  inferior  to  the 
droppings  of  such  as  are  highly  fed.  The  imperfect  mastication 
of  the  horse  and  mule,  in  comparison  with  the  ruminating  ani- 
mals, tlie  ox  and  the  sheep,  their  generally  better  quality  of  food, 
and  the  fact  that  for  the  greater  part  of  their  lives  they  are  not 


ORGANIC  MANURES. 


adding  to  their  carcass,  is  the  cause  of  the  increased  value  of 
their  manure.  Their  sohd  fceces  are  also  much  richer  than  those 
of  the  cow,  as  they  void  less  urine,  and  this  is  of  an  indiffer- 
ent character.  In  a  long,  series  of  careful  experiments,  made 
at  Dresden  and  Berhn  by  order  of  the  Saxon  and  Prussian 
governments,  it  was  ascertained  that  soil  which  would  yield 
three  for  one  sown,  when  dressed  with  cow  dung  would  give 
seven ;  with  horse  dung,  ten ;  and  with  human,  fourteen. 

POUDRETTE  AND  URATE. 

Poudrette  is  the  name  given  to  the  human  foeces  after  it 
has  been  mixed  with  charcoal  dust  or  charred  peat,  by  which  it 
is  disinfected  of  its  effluvia,  and  when  dried  it  becomes  a  conven- 
ient article  for  use,  and  even  for  remote  transportation.  The 
odor  is  sometimes  expelled  by  adding  quicklime,  but  this  removes 
with  it  much  of  the  ammonia,  and  on  this  account  should  always 
be  avoided. 

Urate^  as  well  as  poudrette,  should  become  an  article  of  com- 
merce. It  can  be  made  in  large  cities  by  collecting  the  urine  and 
mixing  with  it  one-sixth  or  one-seventh  of  its  weight  of  ground 
gypsum,  and  allowing  it  to  stand  several  days.  This  combines 
with  a  portion  of  the  ammonia,  after  which  it  is  dried  and  the 
liquid  is  thrown  away.  Only  a  part  of  the  value  is  secured  by 
this  operation.  It  is  sometimes  prepared  by  the  use  of  sulphuric 
acid,  which  is  gradually  added  to  urine  and  forms  sulphate  of 
ammonia,  which  is  afterwards  dried.  This  secures  a  greater 
amount  of  the  valuable  properties  of  the  urine ;  but  even  this  is 
not  without  waste. 

Night  Soil. — From  the  analysis  of  Berzelius,  the  excrements 
of  a  healthy  man  yielded  water,  733;  albumen,  9";  bile,  9;  muscil- 
age  fat  and  the  animal  matters,  167;  saline  matters,  12;  and 
undecomposed  food,  70,  in  1,000  parts.  When  freed  from  water, 
1,000  parts  left  of  ash,  132;  and  this  yielded,  carbonate  of  soda, 
8 ;  sulphate  of  soda,  with  a  little  sulphate  of  potash,  and  phosphate 
of  soda,  8 ;  phosphate  of  lime  and  magnesia,  and  a  trace  of  gypsum, 
100;  silica,  16. 


78 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


Human  urine^  according  to  the  same  authority,  gives  in  every 
1,000  parts,  of  water,  933;  urea,  30.1 ;  uric  acid,  1  ;  free  lactic 
acid,  lactate  of  ammonia,  and  inseparable  animal  matter,  17rl ; 
mucus  of  the  bladder,  0.3;  sulphate  of  potash,  3.7;  sulphate  of 
soda,  3.2;  phosphate  of  soda,  2.9;  phosphate  of  ammonia,  1.6; 
common  salt,  4.5 ;  sal  ammoniac,  1.5 ;  phosphates  of  lime,  acid 
magnesia,  with  a  trace  of  sihca  and  of  fluoride  of  calcuim,  1.1. 

Urea,  according  to  Prout,  gives  of  carbon,  19.99;  oxygen, 
26.63;  hydrogen,  6.65;  nitrogen,  46.65.  The  analysis  of 
Wcehler  and  Liebig  differs  immaterially  from  this.  Such  are  the 
materials  abounding  in  every  ingredient  that  can  minister  to  the 
production  of  plants,  which  are  suffered  to  waste  in  the  air,  and 
taint  its  purity  and  healthfulness  ;  or  they  are  buried  deep  in  the 
earth  beyond  the  reach  of  any  useful  apphcation,  and  even  in  this 
position,  (frequently  in  villages,  and  always  in  cities,)  they  pollute 
the  waters  with  their  disgusting  and  poisonous  effluvia.  The 
water  from  one  of  the  wells  in  Boston,  examined  by  Dr.  Jackson, 
gave  an  appreciable  per  centage  of  excrementitious  matter. 

The  Treatment  of  Night  Soil  with  Dried  Earth. — An 
apparently  perfect  mode  of  managing  human  excrements  has 
recently  been  introduced  in  England,  and  to  a  small  extent  in 
this  country.  It  consists  of  mingling  with  them  in  their  most  recent 
state  a  small  quantity  of  dried  earth.  This  completely  deodorizes 
them,  making  it  possible  to  keep  them  in  a  sick  room  even,  with- 
out annoyance,  any  desirable  length  of  time.  In  the  country, 
where  it  can  be  at  once  apphed,  tight  wooden  boxes  may  be  used, 
with  hooks  on  the  outer  side,  to  which  a  team  may  be  attached, 
for  drawing  them  wherever  required.  The  boxes  should  have  a 
coating  at  the  bottom,  of  dried  earth,  and  require  to  have  added 
to  them  daily  about  a  pound  and  a  half  of  earth  for  each  individual 
of  the  family,  and  to  have  the  entire  contents  occasionally  thor- 
oughly commingled.  This  operation  may  be  effected  by  a  com- 
mon hoe  or  shovel,  or  some  simple  mechanism  may  be  devised  to 
effect  the  same  result.  It  has  been  found  that  the  accumulations 
of  these  earth  closets,  when  exposed  again  to  the  sun  or  air,  and 


ORGANIC  MANURES. 


70 


thoroughly  dried,  are  almost,  if  not  quite,  as  efficient  as  fresh 
earth  for  using  again  and  again  in  the  closets  and  commodes, 
even  after  having  been  employed  six  or  seven  times.  By  this 
time  they  have  become  a  very  powerful  fertilizer,  superior  to 
anything  which  has  heretofore  been  used  as  night  soil,  or  sold 
under  the  names  of  poudrette,  tafeu,  etc.  It  is  certainly  within 
the  ability  of  families,  in  this  way,  not  only  to  save  large  quanti- 
ties of  this  valuable  fertilizer,  for  use  in  their  own  gardens  or  on 
their  farms;  but,  if  they  have  no  land,  by  being  careful  to  encour- 
age or  secure  its  accumulation,  they  will  not  only  add  to  their 
own  health,  comfort  and  cleanliness,  but  produce  an  article  which 
will  have  a  definite  market  value. 

THE  EXCREMENTS  OF  FOWLS. 

These  contain  both  the  foeccs  and  urine  combined,  and  are  next 
to  night  soil  in  value.  They  should  be  mixed  at  once  with  the 
soil,  or  with  a  compost  where  its  volatile  matters  will  be  retained. 
They  are  very  soluble,  and  when  exposed  to  moisture,  are  hable 
to  waste.    They  should  be  husbanded  with  economy  and  care. 

FLESH,   BLOOD,  ETC. 

"When  decomposed,  these  substances  afford  all  the  materials  of 
manure  in  its  most  condensed  form.  Whenever  procurable,  they 
should  be  mixed  with  eight  or  ten  times  their  weight  of  dry  peat, 
turf,  tan-bark  or  rich  garden  mold.  A  dead  cow  or  horse  thus 
buried  in  a  bed  of  peat,  will  yield  ten  or  fifteen  loads  of  the 
richest  manure.  Butchers'  offal  will  give  twenty  times  its  weight 
of  more  valuable  manure  than  any  from  his  cattle  yards. 

HAIR,   HORNS,   HOOFS^  PELTS,  WOOLEN  RAGS,  AND  THE  FLOCKS, 
AND  WASTE  OF  WOOLEN  MANUFACTORIES, 

Are  rich  in  every  organic  substance  required  by  plants,  and 
when  mingled  with  the  soil  they  gradually  yield  them,  and  afford 
a  permanent  and  luxuriant  growth  to  every  cultivated  crop.  All 


80 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


animal  substances  contain  about  fifteen  or  eighteen  per  cent,  of 
nitrogen. 

FISH  FISH  GUANO  FISH  POMACE  FISH  OFFAL,  ETC.,  OF 

THE  MARKETS. 

These  articles  are  much  used  in  this  and  other  countries  for 
manure.  The  moss-bonker,  or  bonj-fish,  and  alewives,  frequent 
the  Atlantic  coast  in  countless  numbers,  in  the  spring,  and  are 
caught  in  seines,  and  sold  to  the  farmers  by  the  wagon  load.  They 
are  sometimes  plowed  into  the  soil  with  a  spring  crop,  or  are 
more  frequently  used  for  growing  corn,  for  which  purpose  one  or 
.  two  fish  are  placed  in  each  hill  and  buried  with  the  seed.  This 
was  the  system  adopted  by  the  aborigines  of  our  country  in  rais- 
ing their  maize  on  exhausted  lands,  long  before  their  occupancy, 
or  even  discovery  by  the  whites.  There  is  waste  in  this  practice, 
as  the  soils  used  for  corn  are  generally  sandy,  and  the  slight 
silicious  covering  imperfectly  combines  with  the  putrefying  fish, 
and  much  of  their  gases  thereby  eludes  the  plant,  to  the  excessive 
annoyance  of  the  olfactories  for  miles  around. 

The  proper  method  of  using  them  is  by  composting  with  dry 
earth,  in  alternate  layers  of  about  three  inches  in  thickness  of 
fish  to  nine  of  earth,  and  over  the  whole  a  coating  of  two  to  four 
feet  of  soil  is  placed.  A  few  weeks  of  warm  weather  suffices  to 
decompose  the  fish,  which  unite  with  the  soil,  no  perceptible 
efifiuvia  escaping  from  the  heap,  so  effectual  is  its  absorption.  A 
strong  acrid  smell  is,  however,  noticeable,  and  when  it  has  become 
thus  off'ensive,  it  is  a  sure  sign  of  its  decay.  It  may  then  be 
overhauled  and  re-mixed  with  more  earth,  for  further  decomposi- 
tion, if  in  warm  weather.  It  may  at  any  time  thereafter  be 
applied  to  the  use  of  growing  crops,  or,  in  the  colder  seasons  and 
in  low  temperature,  be  preserved  a  long  time  for  future  use.  It 
is  suited  to  nearly  all  soils  and  crops.  Oyster  and  clam  shells, 
and  all  other  kind  of  mollusca,  and  fish  debris,  not  readily  decom- 
posable by  earthy  mixtures,  strewed  over  the  surface,  are  also 
valuable  as  fertilizers. 


0R(5^ANIC  MANURES. 


81 


SEA-WEED, 

Is  a  powerful  aid  to  the  farmer  when  within  convenient  dis- 
tances. It  is  thrown  upon  the  sea-coast  by  the  waves  in  large 
windrows,  or  it  is  carefully  raked  up  from  the  rocks  or  bottom  of 
the  bays,  either  by  farmers  or  those  who  make  it  a  business  to 
procure  and  sell  it.  It  may  be  used  as  bedding  for  cattle,  or  litter 
for  the  barn-yard,  or  added  directly  to  the  compost  heap.  Where 
the  distance  for  carrying  it  would  prevent  its  use,  it  may  be 
burned  and  the  ashes  removed  to  the  land.  It  has  much  more 
saline  matter  than  vegetables  which  grow  on  land,  and  yields  a 
more  valuable  manure. 

PEAT. 

Much  of  our  American  peat  is  found  equal  in  excellence  to  the 
same  article  in  many  parts  of  Northern  Europe.  There,  its 
nearly  pure  carbonaceous  quality  admits  of  its  extensive  use  as 
fuel.  Many  of  our  domestic  peats  are  mixed  with  the  wash  from 
the  adjacent  elevations,  which  render  them  more  easily  suscep- 
tible of  profitable  cultivation  in  their  native  beds,  and  not 
less  valuable  as  a  fertilizer  wh'en  applied  to  other  lands.  In  six 
different  specimens  from  Northampton,  and  four- from  other  local- 
ities in  Massachusetts,  Dr.  Dana  found  an  average  of  29.41 
soluble,  and  55.03  insoluble  geine  or  humus;  and  15.55  of  salts 
and  silicates  in  every  100  parts.  The  extensive  researches  of  the 
same  intelligent  observer  have  led  him  to  recommend  the  mixture 
of  30  lbs.  potash,  or  20  lbs.  of  soda  ash,  or  what  is  more 
economical  and  equally  efficacious,  eight  bushels  of  unleached 
wood  ashes,  with  one  cord  of  peat  as  it  is  dug  from  its  bed ;  or, 
if  leached  ashes  be  used,  they  should  be  mixed  in  the  proportion 
of  one  to  three  of  peat.  This  he  considers  fally  equivalent  to 
pure  cow  dung  in  value.  He  also  estimates  the  salts  and  humus 
of  four  cords  of  peat  as  equal  to  the  manure  of  a  cow  for  one 
year.    The  opinion  of  Mr.  Phinney,  a  distinguished  agriculturist 

of  Lexington,  Mass.,  founded  on  close  observation  and  long 
4* 


82 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


practice,  is  that  one  part  of  green  cattle  dung  composted  with 
twice  its  bulk  of  peat,  will  make  the  whole  as  good  as  pure  dung. 
Some  peats  are  richer  in  ammonia  than  common  barn-yard  manure. 

Peat,  in  its  natural  condition,  contains  from  seventy  to  over 
ninety  per  cent,  of  water.  It  should  be  dug  from  its  bed  in  the 
fall  or  winter  for  the  purpose  of  draining  or  exposing  it  to  the 
action  of  the  atmosphere,  when  it  will  be  found  to  have  lost  about 
two-thirds  of  its  bulk.  In  this  state  it  still  holds  about  sixty-five 
per  cent,  of  water.  It  may  then  be  carted  in  to  the  cattle  yards 
and  used  for  making  composts  in  any  way  desired. 

MANURING  WITH  GREEN  CROPS. 

This  system  has  within  a  few  years  been  extensively  adopted 
in  some  of  the  older  settled  portions  of  the  United  States.  The 
comparative  cheapness  of  land  and  its  products,  the  high  price  of 
labor,  and  the  consequent  expense  of  making  artificial  manures, 
renders  this  at  present  the  most  economical  plan  which  can  be 
pursued.  The  object  of  this  practice  is,  primarily,  fertilization; 
and  connected  with  it,  is  the  clearing  of  the  ground  from  noxious 
weeds,  as  in  fallows,  by  plowing  in  the  vegetation  before  the  seed 
is  ripened ;  and  finally  to  loosen  the  soil  and  place  it  in  the  mel- 
lowest condition  for  the  crops  which  are  to  succeed.  Its  results 
have  been  entirely  successful,  when  steadily  pursued  with  a  due 
consideration  of  the  objects  sought,  and  the  means  by  which  they 
are  to  be  accomplished.  Lands  in  many  of  our  Eastern  States, 
which  have  been  worn  out  by  improvident  cultivation,  and 
unsalable  at  $10  an  acre,  have,  by  this  means,  while  steadily 
remunerating  their  proprietors  for  all  the  outlay  of  labor  and 
expense  by  their  returning  crops,  been  brought  up  in  value  to 
$50. 

The  full  benefits  of  green  crops  seem  only  to  be  reahzed  where 
there  is  sufficient  calcareous  matter  in  the  soil.  Calcareous  soils, 
or  such  as  have  a  large  proportion  of  lime,  however  they  may 
have  become  exhausted,  when  put  under  a  thorough  course  of 
treatment,  in  which  green  crops  at  proper  intervals  are  returned 
to  them,  are  soon  restored  to  fertility;  and  when  lime  does  not 


ORGANIC  MANURES. 


83 


exist  in  the  soil,  tlie  application  of  it  in  the  proper  manner  and 
quantity  will  produce  the  same  effect.  Gypsum  and  ashes  are 
the  best  substitutes,  when  lime  or  marl  is  difficult  to  be  procured. 

This  system  of  improvement  varies  with  almost  every  indi- 
vidual who  practices  it,  according  to  the  quality  of  his  land,  the 
kind  of  crops  to  be  raised,  the  facihty  of  procuring  manures,  the 
luxuriance  of  particular  crops,  etc.  We  shall  state  merely  the 
general  principles  in  this,  as  in  most  other  subjects,  and  leave  to 
the  farmer's  judgment  to  apply  them  according  to  his  circum- 
stances. It  is  always  better  to  commence  this  system  while  the 
land  is  in  good  condition,  as  a  luxuriant  growth  of  vegetation  is 
as  profitable  for  turning  in  as  for  cropping.  Buckwheat,  rye,  and 
some  of  the  grasses,  have  been  much  used  for  this  purpose  in  this 
country;  and  spurry,  the  white  lupine,  the  vetch  and  rape,  in 
Europe;  but  for  the  Northern  portion  of  the  Union,  nothing 
has  been  hitherto  tried  which  is  so  well  fitted  for  the  object  as 
red  clover. 

Clover  for  Green  Manures. — This  is  suited  to  all  soils 
that  will  grow  anything  profitably,  from  sand,  if  possessing  an 
adequate  amount  of  fertility,  to  the  heaviest  clay,  if  drained  of  its 
superfluous  water.  The  seed  is  cheap,  its  growth  certain  and 
rapid,  and  the  expense  of  its  cultivation  trifling,  while  the  return 
on  a  kindly  soil  and  with  proper  treatment,  is  large.  Added  to 
this,  and  very  much  increasing  its  merits,  is  the  abundance  of  its 
long  tap  roots,  which  penetrate  the  ground  to  a  great  depth  and 
break  up  the  stiff  soils  in  a  manner  peculiarly  beneficial  to  suc- 
ceeding crops.  The  material  yielded  by  the  roots  and  stubble,  is 
of  itself  equal  to  a  good  dressing  of  manure.  It  has  the  further 
advantage  of  giving  two  or  more  years'  growth  from  one  sowing, 
and  of  maintaining  itself  in  the  ground  thereafter  by  self-seeding 
when  not  too  closely  cropped;  and- it  is  equally  suited  to  profit- 
able pasturage  and  winter  forage. 

If  the  first  season  of  growth  of  clover  be  luxuriant  after  the 
removal  of  the  grain  upon  which  it  was  sown,  it  may  be  pastured 
in  the  autumn  or  suffered  to  fall  and  waste  on  the  ground,  the 
first  being  the  most  economical.    The  following  year,  the  early 


84 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTUKE. 


crops  may  be  taken  off  for  hay,  and  the  second,  after  partially 
ripening  its  seeds,  may  be  plowed  in,  and  thus  it  carries  with  it  a 
full  crop  of  seed  for  future  growth.  It  is  usual  when  wheat  is 
cultivated,  to  turn  in  the  clover  when  in  full  flower  in  July,  and 
allow  the  ground  to  remain  undisturbed  till  the  proper  time  for  sow- 
ing the  grain,  when  it  may  be  shallowly  cross-plowed,  or  worked 
by  the  cultivator,"  when  the  wheat  maybe  sown  directly  on  the 
ground  and  harrowed  in.  This  system  gives  alternate  crops  of 
grain  and  clover,  and  with  the  use  of  such  saline  manures  as  may 
be  necessary  to  replace  those  abstracted  from  the  soil,  will  sus- 
tain the  greatest  fertility.  With  a  slight  dressing  of  these  wlien 
the  land  is  in  good  condition,  the  first  crop  of  clover  may  be 
taken  off,  and  yet  allow  a  sufficient  growth  for  turning  in. 

It  is  customary,  however,  to  adopt  a  three  or  four  years'  course 
of  cropping,  in  which  grain,  roots,  corn,  etc.,  alternate  with  clover 
and  barn-yard  manures ;  and  this  we  think  the  most  approved 
practice  when  the  land  is  within  convenient  distance  of  the  manure. 
If  the  fields  are  remote,  a  still  longer  course  would  be  preferable, 
where  stock,  and  particularly  sheep,  are  kept,  as  they  might  be 
allowed  to  pasture  the  field  during  a  much  greater  time.  Sheep 
would  remove  only  so  much  of  the  forage  as  remains  in  their 
carcass;  while  milch  cows  and  working  animals  would  of  course 
carry  off  a  greater  amount,  the  first  in  the  milk  and  the  last  in 
their  manure  dropped  while  out  of  the  field. 

The  Cow  Pea  is  a  rank,  luxuriant  producer,  and  is  deemed 
the  best  of  the  fertilizers  for  the  South ;  as  it  will  there  grow  two 
crops  in  one  season  from  two  successive  plantings.  This  is  also 
a  valuable  fodder  for  cattle  and  sheep,  and  the  ripe  peas  are  a 
profitable  crop.  Like  a  luxuriant  growth  of  clover,  it  requires 
the  roller  to  prepare  it  properly  for  the  plow. 

Spurry  is  extensively  used  in  the  north  of  Europe,  Flanders, 
Germany  and  Denmark,  as  a  fertilizer  and  as  forage  for  cattle, 
both  in  its  green  and  dry  state.  It  is  admirably  adapted  to  the 
lightest  sands,  where  it  is  said  to  grow  with  more  luxuriance  and 
profit  than  any  other  of  the  cultivated  plants.  It  may  be  sown 
in  the  fall  after  grain  or  early  roots,  and  plowed  in  the  following 


OKGANIC  MANURES. 


85 


spring.  Three  crops  may  be  grown  on  tlie  same  land  in  one 
season.  Yan  Yoght  says,  by  alternating  these  crops  with  rye,  it 
will  reclaim  the  worst  sands,  and  yield  nearly  the  same  benefits 
if  pastured  off  by  cattle ;  while  it  adds  materially  to  the  advant- 
ages of  other  manures  applied  at  the  same  time.  It  grows 
spontaneously  in  many  of  our  fields  as  a  weed,  and  its  cultivation 
on  our  lightest  sands,  which  are  too  poor  for  clover,  might  be 
attended  with  the  best  effects.  Like  the  cow  pea,  however,  it  is 
deficient  in  the  deep  tap  roots,  which  give  much  of  their  efficiency 
to  the  clover  and  white  lupine. 

White  Lupine. — This  plant  has  not,  to  our  knowledge,  been 
introduced  as  a  field  crop  in  this  country;  but  from  the  great 
success  which  has  attended  its  cultivation  in  Europe,  it  is  a  proper 
subject  of  consideration,  whether  it  might  not  be  advantageously 
introduced  among  us.  It  grows  freely  in  all  except  calcareous 
soils,  and  is  best  suited  to  such  as  have  a  subsoil  charged  with 
iron.  It  is  hardy,  not  liable  to  injury  from  insects,  grows  rapidly 
and  with  an  abundance  of  stems,  leaves  and  roots.  The  latter 
protects  the  plant  from  drought  by  penetrating  through  the  sub- 
soil for  a  depth  of  more  than  two  feet,  which  they  break  up  and 
prepare  in  the  most  efficient  manner  for  succeeding  crops. 

The  advantages  of  Green  Manures  consist  principally  in 
the  addition  of  vegetable  matter  which  they  furnish  to  the  soil. 
The  presence  of  this,  aids  in  the  liberation  of  those  mineral 
ingredients  which  are  there  locked  up,  and  which  on .  being  set 
free,  act  with  so  much  advantage  to  the  crop.  The  roots  also, 
exert  a  power  in  effecting  this  decomposition  beyond  any  other 
known  agents,  either  of  nature  or  art.  Their  minute  fibres  are 
brought  into  contact  with  the  elements  of  the  soil,  and  they  act 
upon  them  with  a  force  peculiar  to  themselves  alone,  and  which 
is  far  more  efficacious  than  the  intensest  heat  or  strongest  acids, 
persuading  the  elements  to  give  up  for  their  own  use,  what  is 
essential  to  their  maturity  and  perfection.  By  substituting  a  crop 
for  a  naked  fallow,  we  have  every  fibre  of  the  roots  in  the  whole 
field  aiding  the  ordinary  decomposition  which  is  slowly  going 
forward  in  every  soil. 


86 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


Clover,  and  most  broad  leaved  plants,  draw  largely  for  their 
sustenance  from  the  air,  especially  when  aided  by  the  application 
of  gypsum.  By  its  long  tap  roots,  it  also  draws  much  from  the 
subsoil,  as  all  plants  appropriate  such  sahne  substances  as  are 
necessary  to  their  maturity,  and  are  brought  to  their  roots  in  a 
state  of  solution  by  the  up-welling  moisture  from  beneath.  This 
last  is  frequently  a  great  source  of  improvement.  The  amount 
of  carbon  drawn  from  the  air  in  the  state  of  carbonic  acid,  and 
of  ammonia  and  nitric  acid,  under  favorable  circumstances  of  soil 
and  crop,  are  large ;  and  when  buried  beneath  the  surface,  all  are 
saved  and  yield  their  fertility  to  the  land;  while  such  as  decay  on 
the  surface  lose  much  of  their  value  by  evaporation  and  drainage. 
In  the  green  statej  fermentation  is  rapid,  and  by  resolving  the 
matter  of  plants  into  their  elements,  it  fits  the  ground  at  once  for 
a  succeeding  crop. 

APPLICATION  OF  MANURES. 

In  the  application  of  the  different  manures,  opinions  among 
practical  farmers  somewhat  differ,  depending  on  the  soils  to  which 
they  are  applied.  And  soils  differ  so  greatly  in  their  several 
compositions,  that  no  positive  rules  can  be  laid  down  for  their 
general  application. 

The  ordinary  barn-yard  manures  also  differ  largely  in  their 
composition,  depending  on  the  material  from  which  they  are 
made.  It  has  already  been  seen  that  the  richer  the  food  given 
to  farm  stock,  the  better  the  manure  will  be,  as  grain  yields  the 
richest;  good  hay,  corn  blades,  and  mixed  feeds  of  ground  grain 
and  straw  come  next;  while  the  various  straws,  cornstalks,  etc., 
yield  the  poorest  of  the  three^  and  littered  straw  of  any  kind, 
not  decomposed,  makes  the  weakest  of  all.  Yet,  even  tliis  last, 
when  partially  decomposed,  is  a  valuable  manure. 

APPLIED  TO  GRASS  GROUNDS. 

Again,  the  kind  of  crops  proposed  to  be  grown  by  aid  of  these 
manures,  should  measurably  govern  their  application.    On  grass 


ORGANIC  MANURES. 


81 


grounds  we  hold  that  the  fresher  the  manure  the  better,  no  mat- 
*  ter  if  it  be  drawn  out  the  day  that  it  is  thrown  from  the  stable 
window,  and  spread  equally  over  the  soil.  Foul  seeds  in  fresh 
manures — and  they  are  sometimes  apt  to  be  in  them — will  sel- 
dom take  growth  on  a  well  compacted  turf  The  juices  of  the 
manure  go  down  into  the  soil  with  the  rains,  or  snows,  while  the 
seeds  dry  up  and  take  no  root.  Yet,  on  hay  meadows,  these 
manures  are  best  apphed  as  soon  after  the  hay  is  cut  off  as  possi- 
■  ble,  during  the  latter  summer  or  autumn,  so  that  they  may 
decompose  through  the  winter,  and  not  interfere  with  the  growth 
of  the  spring  grass.  Spring  manuring,  or  top  dressing  on  grass 
grounds  with  coarse  barn-yard  dung,  we  would  not  recommend. 
Better  let  it  he  over  for  the  latter  summer  or  fall  season.  It  will 
be  in  the  way  of  cutting  the  grass,  and  more  or  less  of  it  work 
up,  undecomposed,  with  the  cut  grass  into  the  hay,  and  so  injure 
it ;  while  on  pastures,  it  will  taint  the  herbage  and  be  distasteful 
to  the  animals  cropping  it.  We  believe,  also,  that  it  will  be 
more  beneficial  to  the  coming  crops  so  applied  in  the  fall  of  the 
year. 

APPLIED  TO  PLOWED  CROPS, 

Seeds  are  an  objection  to  fresh  manures,  as  straw,  sea- weed,  etc. 
They  are  often  contained  in  them,  as  seeds  of  the  grasses  and 
various  noxious  weeds,  which  may  sprout  and  grow  in  the  pulver- 
ized soil  with  which  they  become  intermixed,  and  thus  cause 
much  extra  labor  in  eradicating  them  in  hoed  crops,  or  repro- 
ducing themselves  in  a  much  greater  degree  in  crops  of  standing 
grain.  For  such  purposes  barn-yard  manures  should  be  partially, 
or  wholly  rotted.  This  may  be  done  by  throwing  it  into  heaps 
outside  the  buildings,  and  composting  it  with  soil,  or  occasionally 
turning  it  to  let  the  seeds  sprout,  if  they  will,  and  die  in  the  pro- 
cesses of  the  work. 

We  believe,  both  from  our  own  experience,  and  the  experience 
of  others,  that,  as  a  general  rule^  the  better  way  on  hoed,  or  sown 
crops,  is  to  spread  the  manure  on  the  surface^  after  the  last  plow- 
ing^ and  harrow  it  in  with  the  planted  or  sowed  crop.    By  this 


88 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


process  enougli  of  the  juices  of  the  manure  will  be  washed  into 
the  soil  to  feed  the  roots,  together  with  the  salts  and  ammonia 
contained  in  it.  By  their  action  with  the  atmosphere,  the  stalks 
and  leaves,  which  are  the  lungs  of  the  plant,  are  forced  into  more 
rapid  growth.    This  practice,  we  believe,  acts  on  all  soils  alike. 

When  manures  are  plowed  into  clays,  or  loams,  they  are  held 
long  unaltered  by  the  compactness  of  the  soil  above  them,  as  with- 
out rain  and  sun  acting  directly  upon  them,  they  remain  compara- 
tively dormant,  and  are  not  decomposed,  and  they  are  of  little  use 
until  again  thrown  up  to  the  future  action  of  the  atmosphere. 
Therefore,  for  their  immediate  action  on  the  crop  they  are  of  ht- 
tle  use.  On  the  Hghter  soils  thus  worked,  manures  may  act  much 
quicker  than  on  the  clays,  or  heavy  loams,  but  they  are  more 
effective  when  near  or  quite  upon  the  surface.  Overflowed  lands 
or  river  bottoms,  always  receive  their  washings  on  the  surface, 
giving  great  yields  of  grass,  and  even  when  plowed  their  yields 
are  better  from  a  second  plowing,  which  returns  the  washings  thus 
brought  upon  them  again  to  the  surface. 

It  may  be  said  to  this  plan  of  surface  manuring,  when  it  is  seen 
smoking  after  a  rain,  that  the  ammonia  is  escaping,  and  blown  off 
by  winds  into  the  atmosphere,  is  lost;  or,  that  if  a  drought  follows, 
it  dries  up  and  no  benefit  is  derived  from  it.  This  occurs  to  a  much 
less  extent  than  might  be  supposed ;  and  the  fact  remains  that 
the  crops  get  more  benefit  than  if  the  manure  were  below  the 
surface.  This  is  especially  true  of  grass  and  small  grains.  With- 
out moisture,  manure,  in  any  position  lies  dormant.  It  can  only 
become  active  with  sufficient  moisture  to  mduce  decomposition. 
Therefore  it  is  not  lost  in  its  dryness  whether  under,  or  above 
ground ;  but  its  activity  is  more  developed  when  near,  or  alto- 
gether on  the  surface. 

All  quick  growing  and  vegetable  substances,  decomposed, 
make  good  manures,  such  as  weeds,  grass,  potato  tops,  dry  stalks 
of  any  kind,  corncobs — in  short,  anything,  except  woody  brush. 
And  even  that,  if  it  could  be  finely  cut,  would  soon  decompose, 
and  make  good  manure.    Wood-chips,  sawdust,  wood-shavings, 


ORGANIC  MANURES. 


89 


and  any  other  fine  wood  material  acts  mechanically  in  clay  lands 
to  great  advantage,  in  loosening  tlie  soil  and  making  it  permeable 
to  the  rains  and  atmosphere,  although  it  does  not,  immediately, 
much  enrich  it. 

"Dust  thou  art,  and  unto  dust  shalt  thou  return,"  is  as  applica- 
l>le  to  vegetable  as  to  animal  hfe,  although  apphed  in  a  very  dif- 
ferent sense  here  to  that  in  which  the  text  was  originally  uttered. 
Every  decomposable  thing,  in  fact,  adds  to  the  productiveness  of 
our  soils  when  properly  applied. 

THE  FALLOW  SYSTEM. 

As  a  means  of  enriching  lands,  this  was  formerly  much  prac- 
ticed, but  it  is  now  mostly  discarded  by  inteUigent  farmers.  It 
consists  in  plowing  up  the  land  and  exposing  it  naked  to  the 
elements,  whenever  the  exhaustion  by  tillage  requires  it.  This 
practice  is  founded  on  the  principle,  that  plants  gradually  exhaust 
the  soil  of  such  soluble  food,  potash,  soda,  etc.,  as  are  necessary 
to  their  support ;  and  unless  they  are  again  given  to  it  in  manures, 
in  a  form  suited  to  their  immediate  appropriation  by  plants,  time 
is  requisite  for  dissolving  them  in  the  soil  so  as  to  enable  them 
again  to  support  vegetation  profitably.  Besides  the  loss  resulting 
from  the  frequent  idleness  of  the  land,  naked  fallows  have  this 
further  disadvantage,  and  especially  in  Hght  and  loose  soils ;  they 
are  exposed  to  the  full  action  of  the  sun  and  rains,  and  by  evap- 
oration and  drainage  are  exhausted  of  much  of  their  soluble 
vegetable  food. 

This  system,  bad  as  it  is,  may  yet  be  absolutely  necessary  where 
grain  alone  is  raised,  and  no  manure  is  applied.  But  it  is  always 
avoidable  by  substituting  fallow  crops,  as  they  are  termed,  potatoes, 
turnips,  etc.,  with  manure;  or  clover  or  other  green  crops,  as 
above  detailed ;  by  which  the  land  is  cleared  of  weeds  and  suffi- 
ciently enriched  for  succeeding  cultivation.  Land  is  equally  well 
prepared  for  grain  by  having  been  occupied  as  meadows,  if  they 
have  been  kept  in  good  condition  by  top  dressing,  and  pastured 
answer  the  same  purpose  without  them. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

lEKIGATIOIS"  AND  DRAINING. 

Irrigation  might  properlj  enough  be  classed  under  the  head 
of  manures,  for  the  materials  which  it  provides  are  not  only  food 
for  plants,  but  they  aid  also  in  procuring  it  from  other  sources. 
Water  is  of  indispensable  necessity  to  vegetable  life,  and  the 
great  quantity  of  it  demanded  for  this  purpose,  is  in  most  climates 
amply  provided  by  nature  in  the  stores  of  rain  and  dew  which 
almost  everywhere  moisten  the  earth,  and  especially  during  the 
early  growth  of  vegetation  when  it  is  most  required.  In  countries 
where  rain  seldom  or  never  falls,  as  in  parts  of  South  America, 
(the  great  plains  west  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  Colorado,  and 
the  Utah  valleys,  and  even  into  California,  elevated  above  the 
dew  point,)  Egypt  and  elsewhere,  the  radiation  of  heat  from  the 
surface  is  so  rapid  under  their  clear  skies,  that  excessive  deposits 
of  dew  generally  supply  the  plants  with  all  the  moisture  which 
they  need.  The  same  effect  takes  place  throughout  most  of  the 
United  States  in  our  transparent  summer  atmosphere,  and  it  is  to 
the  presence  of  copious  dews  on  our  rich,  well  cultivated  fields, 
that  much  of  the  luxuriance  and  success  is  due,  which  has  ever 
attended  enlightened,  well  managed  American  husbandry. 

Besides  the  moisture  that  abounds  in  the  atmosphere,  but 
which  is  not  always  available  in  rains  and  dews  to  the  desired 
extent  for  the  wants  of  vegetation,  and  that  which  imperceptibly 
ascends  from  remote  depths  in  the  earth  and  administers  to  the 
support  of  plants,  it  is  a  practice  coeval  with  the  earliest  history 
of  agriculture  to  bring  artificial  waters  upon  the  cultivated  fields, 
and  make  them  contribute  to  the  support  of  the  crops.  In  many 
countries  this  system  is  indispensable  to  secure  their  maturity ; 


IRRIGATION  AND  DRAINING. 


91 


for,  although  dews  accomplisli  the  object  in  a  measure,  they  do 
not  supply  it  in  the  quantity  required  to  sustain  a  vigorous  growth. 
We  find  in  looking  to  the  practice  of  Egypt  and  the  Barbary 
States  in  Africa;  of  Syria,  Babylon  and  other  places  in  Asia; 
Italy,  Spain  and  elsewhere  in  Europe,  where  husbandry  early 
attained  a  high  rank,  that  irrigation  was  extensively  introduced. 
Damascus  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  cities  on  record,  (for  it  is 
mentioned  in  Genesis  as  existing  nearly  4,000  years  ago,)  and 
notwithstanding  its  numerous  successive  masters,  and  its  having 
been  frequently  subject  to  plunder  and  devastation  when  con- 
quered, it  is  still  a  flourishing  city,  though  in  the  midst  of  deserts. 
This  is  no  doubt  owing  to  the  waters  derived  from  the  "  Abana 
and  Pharpar,  rivers  of  Damascus,"  which  are  conducted  above 
the  city  till  they  gush  from  the  fountains  and  overspread  the 
gardens,  and  subsequently  water  all  the  adjacent  plain.  Had  it 
not  been  for  irrigation,  Damascus  would  doubtless,  ages  ago,  have 
followed  Palmyra,  the  Tadmor  of  the  wilderness,  into  utter  ruin. 
On  no  other  principle  than  a  systematic  and  extensive  practice  of 
irrigation,  can  we  account  for  the  once  populous  condition  of 
Judea,  Idumea  and  other  vast  regions  in  the  East,  which  to  the 
eye  of  the  modern  traveler  present  nothing  but  the  idea  of  irre- 
claimable sterihty  and  desolation.  The  possession  of  the  "upper 
and  nether  springs  "  was  as  necessary  to  the  occupant  as  possession 
of  the  soil. 

When  the  Mormons  first  settled  in  Salt  Lake  Yalley,  the 
country  was  a  barren  wilderness  from  perpetual  drought  in  the 
growing  seasons  of  vegetation,  but  by  aid  of  irrigation  alone,  it 
has  become  one  of  the  most  productive  countries  in  the  world. 

In  those  countries  where  the  drought  is  excessive  and  rains  are 
seldom  to  be  depended  on,  water  is  led  on  to  the  fields  containing 
all  the  cultivated  crops,  and  made  subservient  to  their  growth. 
But  in  the  United  States,  and  in  the  middle  and  northern  parts 
of  Europe,  where  the  crops  ordinarily  attain  a  satisfactory  size 
without  its  aid,  irrigation  is  confined  almost  exclusively  to  grass 
or  meadow  lands. 


92 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


All  waters  are  suitable  for  this  purpose  excepting  such  as  con 
tain  an  excess  of  some  mineral  substances  that  are  deleterious  to 
vegetable  life.  Such  are  the  drainage  from  peat  swamps,  from 
saline  and  mineral  springs,  and  from  ore  beds  of  various  kinds  ; 
and  those  are  most  frequent  in  which  iron  is  held  in  solution.  Of 
the  spring,  or  ordinary  river  waters,  those  are  the  best  which 
are  denominated  hard,  and  owe  this  quality  to  the  presence 
of  sulphate  or  carbonate  of  lime,  or  magnesia.  Waters  charged 
with  fertilizing  substances  that  have  been  washed  out  of  soils 
by  recent  floods,  are  admirably  suited  to  irrigation.  Dr. 
Dana  estimates  the  quantity  of  salts  (in  solution)  and  geine,  or 
humus,  which  were  borne  seaward  past  Lowell,  on  the  Merrimac 
river,  in  1838,  (a  season  of  unusual  freshets,)  as  reaching  the 
enormous  amount  of  840,000  tons — enough  to  have  given  a  good 
dressing  to  100,000  acres  of  land.  Such  waters  as  have  flowed 
out  of  the  sewers  of  cities,  or  past  slaughter  houses  and  certain 
manufactories,  and  received  the  rich  vegetable  food  thereby 
afibrded,  are  the  most  beneficial  when  applied  to  vegetation. 
Meadows  thus  irrigated  in  the  neighborhood  of  Edinburgh,  have 
rented  by  the  acre  at  the  large  sum  of  $250  per  annum.  But 
when  none  of  these  can  be  procured,  pure  spring  water,  appar- 
ently destitute  of  any  soluble  matters,  may  be  advantageously 
used. 

Besides  its  bringing  of  different  matters  from  remote  distances, 
water  freely  absorbs  the  gases  (carbonic  acid,  oxygen  and  nitro- 
gen, etc.,)  in  proportions  altogether  different  from  those  existing 
in  the  air,  and  brings  them  to  the  roots  by  which  they  are  greedily 
appropriated,  and  in  its  onward,  agitated  progress  over  the  field, 
it  again  absorbs  them  from  the  air,  again  to  be  given  up  when 
demanded  by  the  roots.  "When  the  water  is  permitted  to  remain 
stagnant  on  the  surface,  this  good  effect  ceases;  and  so  far  from 
its  promoting  the  growth  of  the  useful  and  cultivated  grasses, 
they  speedily  perish,  and  a  race  of  sour  and  worthless  aquatic 
plants  spring  up  to  supply  their  place. 


lEKlGATION  AND  DRAINING. 


93 


Another  and  important  office  that  water  fulfills  in  ministering 
to  the  growth  of  vegetation,  is  in  disposing  the  soil  to  those 
changes  which  are  essential  to  its  full  maturity.  Gypsum  requires 
460,  and  hme  778  times  its  bulk  of  water  at  60°  to  dissolve  them. 
Others  among  the  mineral  constituents  of  plants,  also  require  the 
presence  of  large  quantities  of  water  to  fit  them  for  vegetable 
assimilation. 

Time   for   Applying  "Water  to   Meadows. — In  those 
regions  where  the  winters  are  not  severe,  water  may  be  kept  in 
the  fields  daring  the  entire  season  of  frosts.    This  prevents  its 
access  to  the  ground,  and  on  the  approach  of  warm  weather  the 
grasses  at  once  start  into  hfe,  and  give  an  early  and  abundant 
yield.    But  in  general  this  system  cannot  be  successfully  practiced. 
The  water  is  admitted  at  proper  intervals,  freely  during  the 
spring  and  early  part  of  the  summer  when  vegetation  is  either 
just  commencing  or  going  forward  rapidly.    It  is  sufficient  to 
flood  the  surfiice  thoroughly,  and  then  shut  off  the  water  for  a 
time.    In  very  dry  weather  this  may  be  done  with  advantage 
every  night.    Continued  watering,  under  a  bright  sun,  is  an 
unnatural  condition  with  upland  grasses,  and  could  never  be  long 
continued  without  proving  fatal  to  them.    Neither  should  the 
water  be  applied  after  the  grasses  have  commenced  ripening. 
Nature  is  the  proper  guide  in  this,  as  in  most  of  the  operations 
of  the  farmer;  and  it  will  be  seen  how  careful  she  is  in  ordinary 
seasons  to  provide  an  affluence  of  rains  for  the  commencement 
of  vegetation,  while  she  as  carefully  withholds  them  when  it 
approaches  maturity.    After  the  grass  is  cut,  the  water  may  be 
again  let  on  to  flood  the  meadows.    Pastures  may  be  irrigated 
at  proper  intervals  throughout  the  year. 

The  Manner  of  Irrigating. — This  must  depend  on  the 
situation  of  the  surface  and  the  supply  of  water.  Sometimes 
reservoirs  are  made  for  its  reception  from  rains  or  inundations, 
and  sometimes  it  is  collected  at  a  vast  expense  from  springs 
foimd  by  deep  excavations,  and  led  out  by  extensive  subterra- 
neous ditching.    The.  usual  source  of  supply,  however,  is  from 


94 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


streams  or  rivulets,  or  copious  springs  which  discharge  their 
water  on  elevated  ground.  The  former  are  dammed  up  to  turn 
the  water  into  ditches  or  aqueducts,  through  which  it  is  conducted 
to  the  fields,  where  it  is  divided  into  smaller  rills,  till  it  finally 
disappears.  When  it  is  desirable  to  bring  more  water  on  to 
meadows  than  is  required  for  saturating  the  ground,  and  its 
escape  to  fields  below  is  to  be  avoided,  other  ditches  should  be 
made  on  the  lower  sides  to  arrest  and  convey  away  the  surplus 
water. 

The  advantages  of  irrigation  are  so  manifest  that  they  should 
never  be  neglected  when  the  means  for  securing  them  are  within 
economical  reach.  To  determine  what  economy  in  this  case  is, 
we  have  to  estimate,  from  careful  experiment,  the  equivalent 
needed  in  annual  dressing  with  manures  to  produce  the  same 
amount  of  grass  as  would  be  gained  by  irrigation ;  and  to  offset 
the  cost  of  the  manure,  we  must  reckon  the  interest  on  the  per- 
manent fixtures  of  dam,  sluices,  etc.,  and  the  annual  expense  of 
attention  and  repair. 

Thoe  quality  of  grass  from  irrigated  meadows  is  but  slightly 
inferior  to  that  grown  upon  dry  soils ;  and  for  pasturage  it  is 
found  that  animals  do  better  in  dry  seasons  upon  the  watered 
land,  and  in  wet  upon  the  dry.  In  Europe,  where  the  disease  is 
common,  sheep  are  more  liable  to  rot  upon  irrigated  and  marshy 
lands  than  on  such  as  are  free  from  excessive  moisture.  Dry 
land  is  more  natural  to  sheep. 

The  Kind  of  Soils  suited  to  Irrigation. — Light  porous 
soils,  and  particularly  gravels  and  sands,  are  the  most  benefited 
by  irrigation.  Yet,  tenacious  and  clay  soils  are  improved  by  it, 
and  much,  more  so  when  made  porous  by  under  draining.  It  is 
not  only  important  that  water  be  brought  on  to  the  ground,  but 
it  should  pass  off  immediately  after  accomplishing  the  objects 
sought. 

The  increase  from  the  application  of  water  is  sometimes  four- 
fold, when  the  soil,  the  season  and  the  water  are  all  favorable, 
and  it  is  seldom  less  than  doubled.    Many  fields,  which  in  their 


IRRIGATION  AND  DRAINING. 


♦ 

95 


natural  condition,  scarcely  yield  a  bite  of  grass  for  cattle,  when 
thoroughly  irrigated,  will  give  a  good  growth  for  years,  and 
without  the  aid  of  any.  manures. 

UNDER-DRAINING  HEAYY  AND  TENACIOUS  CLAY  LANDS. 

The  advancement  of  agriculture  in  this  country  during  the  few 
last  years,  the  high  price  of  farming  lands  and  their  products 
within  convenient  distances  of  our  larger  markets,  justify  the 
commencement  of  an  intelligent  system  of  draining  on  such  lands 
as  require  it.  This  system  has  for  many  years  been  introduced 
and  largely  practiced  in  England  and  Scotland,  and  of  late  years 
in  various  parts  of  the  United  States,  and  has  resulted  in  the 
most  signal  success.  The  plan  first  adopted  was,  to  excavate  the 
land  in  parallel  lines  at  intervals  of  sixteen  to  twenty-five  feet, 
and  to  a  depth  of  two  to  three  feet,  forming  a  shghtly  inchned 
plane  on  the  bottom,  which  was  from  three  to  six  inches  wide, 
and  gradually  enlarging  as  it  approached  the  surface.  The 
narrowest  drains  were  arched  with  inverted  turf  and  clay,  and  so 
high  as  to  allow  of  the  requisite  space  at  the  bottom  for  the  escape 
of  whatever  water  might  filter  through  the  soil.  Others  were 
formed  with  continuous  arched  tiles  laid  on  a  sole^  (a  flat  tile  of 
the  same  material,)  or  a  board  placed  on  the  bottom  forming  an 
uninterrupted  conductor.  Larger  ditches  were  filled  with  rubble- 
stone  (and  in  some  instances  brush,)  to  a  sufficient  depth,  and 
then  covered  with  soil.  In  all  cases  the  smaller  ones  commu- 
nicated by  their  outlets  with  large  open  drains  which  led  the 
water  from  the  field. 

These  drains  were  always  below  the  reach  of  the  plow,  thus 
leaving  the  whole  surface  of  the  lands  free  from  any  obstruction 
to  cultivation.  Two  recent  improvements  have  been  introduced 
which  materially  diminish  the  expense  while  they  enhance  the 
benefits  of  the  system.  They  consist  in  sinking  the  drain  to  three 
feet,  and  using  baked  clay  or  tile  pipes  one  and  a  half  to  two 
inches  in  diameter,  and  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  in  length,  con- 
nected by  laying  them  simply  end  to  end,  or  better,  by  short  col- 


1)6  AxMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


lars  made  of  sections  of  a  size  larger  tile.  The  trifling  opening 
at  each  joint  is  found  to  be  sufficient  to  admit  all  the  water  which 
the  drain  can  carry;  while  the  increased  depth  at  which  the  drain- 
age takes  place,  draws  the  water  from  a  much  greater  distance. 
With  the  depth  indicated,  it  has  been  found  that  the  drains, 
instead  of  being  required  once  in  sixteen  to  twenty-five  feet,  may 
be  placed  at  intervals  of  thirty  to  forty,  and  accomphsh  the  object 
with  equal  success,  and  in  less  time.  The  expense  of  under-drain- 
ing varies  exceedingly.  It  may  run  from  thirty  to  fifty  dollars 
per  acre,  as  circumstances  may  govern.  It  has  of  late  been  ascer- 
tained, that  in  heavy  soils,  three  feet  is  a  sufficient  depth,  and 
thirty  feet  is  about  the  proper  distance  apart  for  the  most  efiective 
drainage. 

The  advantages  of  under-draining  are  numerous  and  import- 
ant. It  takes  away  all  the  surplus  water  which  exists  in  heavy  or 
tenacious  soils,  which  in  wet  seasons  is  a  serious  impediment  to 
the  successful  growth  and  perfection  of  vegetation ;  thus  always 
insuring  a  full  crop,  when  frequently  not  one-fourth  of  a  crop  is 
matured  on  similar  undrained  soils.  It  allows  of  early  culti- 
vation in  spring  and  late  in  autumn,  by  furnishing  a  dry,  warm 
soil,  which  would  not  admit  of  cultivation  except  in  the  warm 
part  of  the  season;  thus  enabling  the  farmer  to  grow  a  greater 
variety  of  products  where  only  a  few  were  adapted  to  the  soil 
before,  and  to  these  it  gave  several  weeks'  additional  growth.  It 
saves  all  the  trouble  and  waste  of  surface  drains  and  open  furrows, 
which  require  that  much  of  the  land  be  left  almost  in  an  unpro- 
ductive state,  to  serve  as  conductors  of  the  surplus  water.  The 
rains  falling  on  the  convex  surfaces  of  the  lands,  run  off  rapidly 
into  the  furrows,  and  not  only  prevent  the  benefit  to  the  soil 
which  would  result  from  its  absorption,  but  they  carry  with  them 
much  of  the  fine  soil,  which  is  thus  allowed  to  waste.  The  long 
and  the  short  of  this  matter  of  drainag-e  is,  that  instead  of  leaving 
plain  furrows  above  ground  to  let  off  the  water,  the  under  drains, 
acting  the  same  as  surface  furrows,  pass  off  the  surplus  water 
beneath,  when  it  has  done  its  office  of  watering  the  plants  above. 


IRRIGATION  AND  DRAINING. 


97 


Eain  water  is  charged  with  some  of  the  most  important 
elements  of  nutrition  to  plants,  and  especially  contains  consid- 
erable proportions  of  carbonic  acid  and  ammonia.  If  these  be 
permitted  to  percolate  through  the  soil,  the  roots  of  the  plants,  or 
in  their  absence  the  elements  of  the  soil  itselfj  absorb  and  form 
permanent  combinations  with  them.  Air  also  holds  vegetable 
food,  and  it  is  necessary  that  this  should  penetrate  through  every 
portion  of  the  soil  where  the  fibres  of  the  roots  exist.  Soils 
which  are  saturated  with  water  do  not  admit  of  any  air,  unless 
the  small  proportion  combined  with  the  water ;  and  from  all  such 
this  vital  adjunct  of  vegetation  is  excluded.  The  porosity  of  the 
land  thus  secured,  facilitates  the  admission  and  escape  of  heat, 
which  last  condition  is  of  the  utmost  consequence  in  promoting 
the  deposition  of  dews. 

The  dense  mass  of  saturated  soil  is  impervious  to  air  and 
remains  cold  and  clammy.  By  draining  it  below  the  soil,  the 
warm  rains  penetrate  the  entire  mass,  and  there  diffuse  their 
genial  temperature  through  the  roots.  Immediately  pressing  after 
these,  the  warm  air  rushes  in  and  supphes  its  portion  of  aug- 
mented heat  to  the  land.  Porous  soils  thus  readily  imbibe  heat, 
and  they  as  readily  part  with  it;  every  portion  of  their  own 
surfaces  radiating  it  when  the  air  in  contact  with  them  is  below 
their  own  temperature.  This  condition  is  precisely  what  is 
adapted  to  secure  the  deposit  of  the  dews,  so  refreshing,  and 
during  a  season  of  drought,  so  indispensable  to  the  progress  of 
vegetation.  Dew  can  only  be  found  on  surfaces  which  are  below 
the  temperature  of  the  surrounding  air,  and  rapid  radiation  of  the 
heat  imbibed  during  the  warmth  of  a  summer's  day  is  necessary 
to  secure  it  in  sufficient  profusion  for  the  demands  of  luxuriant 
vegetation  in  the  absence  of  frequent  showers. 

An  insensible  deposit  of  moisture  precisely  analogous  to  dew,  is 
constantly  going  forward  in  deep,  rich,  porous  soils.  Wherever  the 
air  penetrates  them  at  a  higher  temperature  than  the  soils  them- 
selves possess,  it  not  only  imparts  to  them  a  portion  of  its  excess 

of  heat,  but  with  it  also,  so  much  of  its  combined  moisture  as  its 
5 


98 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


thus  lessened  capacity  for  retaining  latent  heat  compels  it  to 
relinquish.  To  the  reflecting  mind,  imbued  with  even  the  first 
principles  of  science,  these  considerations  will  be  justlj  deemed 
as  of  the  highest  consequence  to  the  rapid  and  luxuriant  growth 
and  full  development  of  vegetable  Hfe. 

Another  essential  benefit  derivable  from  drained  lands,  consists 
in  the  advantageous  use  which  can  be  made  of  the  subsoil  plow. 
If  there  be  no  escape  for  the  moisture  which  may  have  settled 
below  the  surface,  the  subsoil  plow  has  been  found  to  be  injurious 
rather  than  beneficial.  By  loosening  the  earth  it  admits  a  larger 
deposit  of  water,  which  requires  a  longer  time  for  evaporation 
and  insensible  drainage  to  discharge.  When  the  water  escapes 
freely,  the  use  of  the  subsoil  plow  is  attended  with  the  best  results. 
The  broken  earth,  thus  pulverized  to  a  much  greater  depth  and 
incorporated  with  the  descending  particles  of  vegetable  sustenance, 
affords  an  enlarged  range  for  the  roots  of  plants,  and  in  proportion 
to  its  extent,  fiirnishes  them  with  additional  means  of  growth. 
The  farmer  thus  has  a  means  of  augmenting  his  soil  and  its 
capacity  for  production  wholly  independent  of  increasing  his 
superficial  acres;  for  with  many  crops  it  matters  not  in  the 
quantity  of  their  production,  whether  he  owns  and  cultivates  one 
hundred  acres  of  soil,  one  foot  deep,  or  two  hundred  acres  of  soil, 
half  a  foot  in  depth.  With  the  latter,  however,  he  has  to  provide 
twice  the  capital  in  the  first  purchase,  is  at  twice  the  cost  in 
fencing,  planting  and  tillage,  and  pays  twice  the  taxes.  The 
under  drained  and  subsoiled  fields  have  the  farther  advantage  of 
security  and  steady  development  in  seasons  of  drought,  as  they 
derive  their  moisture  from  greater  depths  which  are  firequently 
unaffected  by  the  parching  heat.  This  secures  to  them  a  large 
yield  while  all  around  is  parched  and  withered.* 

A  more  enlarged  and  general,  or  what  may  justly  be  termed  a 
philanthropic  view  of  this  system,  will  readily  detect  consider- 

*  The  experienced  reader  will  sometimes  notice  the  same  ideas  repeated  under  dif- 
ferent heads.  He  must  bear  in  mind  that  this  work  is  intended  for  learners;  and 
that  it  is  of  more  consequence  thoroughly  to  impress  their  minds  with  important 
principles,  than  to  study  brevity  in  communicating  them. 


IRRIGATION  AND  DRAINING. 


99 


ations  of  great  moment,  in  the  general  healthfulness  of  chmate 
which  would  result  from  the  drainage  of  large  areas,  which  are 
now  saturated,  or  in  many  instances  covered  with  stagnant 
waters,  and  which  are  suffered  to  poUute  the  atmosphere  by  their 
pestilent  exhalations. 

SPRING  AND  SWAMP  DRAINING. 

Springs  are  sometimes  discovered,  not  by  a  free  or  open  dis- 
charge of  their  water,  but  in  extensive  plats  of  wet,  boggy  lands, 
which  are  of  no  further  use  than  to  mire  the  cattle  and  bear  a 
small  quantity  of  inferior  bog  hay.  These  springs  should  be 
sought  at  the  highest  point  where  the  ground  appears  moistened 
and  led  away  to  a  ravine  or  rivulet,  by  a  drain  sufficiently  deep 
to  prevent  the  escape  of  any  of  the  water  into  the  adjacent  soil; 
unless  as  it  sometimes  happens,  the  position  and  quality  of 
water  are  suited  to  irrigation,  when  it  may  be  conducted  over 
the  field  for  that  purpose. 

Swamps  and  Peat  heds  occur  frequently  in  a  hilly  country. 
These  are  low,  level,  wet  lands,  whose  constant  saturation  with 
water  prevents  their  cultivation  with  any  useful  plants.  The 
first  object  in  effecting  their  improvement,  is  to  find  an  outlet  for 
the  escape  of  the  water  to  a  depth  of  three  to  five  feet  below 
the  surface,  according  to  the  area  to  be  reclaimed ;  the  greatest 
depth  above  specified  being  frequently  necessary  to  the  effectual 
drainage  at  all  times,  of  an  extended  surface.    If  the  water^  in 
the  swamp  has  its  origin  in  numerous  springs  from  the  adjoining 
hills,  a  ditch  should  be  dug  around  the  entire  outer  edge  of  it 
where  it  meets  the  ascending  land.    If  the  water  be  derived 
from  a  rivulet,  a  broad  ditch  should  be  made  as  direct  as  possible 
from  its  entrance  to  its  outlet,  and  deep  enough  to  lead  off  all 
the  water.    If  these  are  found  insufficient,  additional  ones  may 
be  made  wherever  required. 

This  subject  of  "under  draining,"  in  aU  its  ramifications, 
requires  a  treatise  of  itself  far  too  extended  to  enter  into  a  work 
of  this  character.    Books  have  been  written  on  the  subject  in  all 


100 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


its  length  and  breadth  of  development.  We  therefore  refer  the 
reader  to  either  of  the  volumes  of  French,  or  Waring,  which  may 
be  readily  found  in  the  agricultural  book  stores  of  our  principal 
cities. 

Indeed,  this  subject  of  under  draining  has  become  so  important 
in  all  heavy  soils,  worth,  in  their  present  condition,  fifty  dollars 
an  acre,  that  their  value  may  be  doubled,  for  crop  producing  pur- 
poses, by  the  simple  outlay  of  thirty  to  forty  dollars  in  the  sim- 
ple process  of  under  draining,  which  will  last  a  hfetime. 

Much  time  and  ingenuity  has  been  expended  in  the  invention 
of  machines  for  ditching  for  tile  drains,  and  we  have  no  doubt 
something  of  the  kind  will  soon  be  perfected  to  reduce  the  cost 
of  the  process,  to  at  least  one-half  the  expense  as  now  encoun- 
tered by  the  plow  and  spade.  Still,  tile  draining  will  pay,  at  the 
present  expense.  The  only  obstacle  to  present  draining,  to  a 
great  extent,  is  the  want  of  moneyed  capital,  with  the  ordinary 
farmer  to  do  it  with;  and  when  forehanded  men,  instead  of  invest- 
ing their  surplus  gains  in  bonds,  mortgages,  and  stocks,  will  apply 
them  to  under  draining  their  farms,  where  needed,  the  better 
returns  will  they  receive  for  the  investment. 


CHAPTER  V. 


MECHANICAL  DIVISION  OF  SOILS. 


SPADING. 


After  selecting  a  proper  soil,  and  placing  it  in  a  suitable  con- 
dition, as  to  manuring,  draining,  etc.,  the  next  most  important 
consideration  is  the  further  preparation  of  the  land  for  the  recep- 
tion of  the  seed.    In  small  patches  of  highly  cultivated  land, 
spading  is  resorted  to  for  breaking  up  and  pulverizing  the  ground 
more  effectually  than  can  be  done  with  the  plow.    This  is  the 
case  with  many  of  the  market  gardens  in  the  neighborhood  of 
our  large  cities,  and  with  large  portions  of  Holland,  Flanders, 
and  other  countries  of  Europe.    It  is  even  contended  by  many 
highly  intelhgent  and  practical  farmers  in  Great  Britain,  where 
labor  is  about  half,  and  land  and  agricultural  products  nearly 
twice  the  average  price  with  us,  that  spade  husbandry  can  be 
adopted  for  general  tillage  crops  with  decided  advantage  to  the 
farmer.    However  this  may  be  abroad,  it  is  certain  it  cannot  be 
practiced  in  this  country  to  any  extent  until  some  very  remote 
period.    The  flat  tined  fork  is  equal  to  or  better  than  the  spade. 

PLOWINCr. 

This  is  the  most  important  of  the  mechanical  operations  of  the 
farm.  The  time,  the  depth  and  the  manner  of  plowing  must 
depend  on  the  crops  to  be  raised,  the  fertility  and  character  of 
the  soil,  and  other  circumstances. 

Plowing  Clay  Lands.— Whenever  practicable,  these  should 
be  plowed  in  the  fall  for  planting  and  sowing  the  ensuing  spring. 
The  tenacity  of  the  soil  may  thus  be  temporarily  broken  up  by 


102 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


the  winter  frosts,  its  particles  more  thoroughly  separated,  and  the 
whole  mass  reduced  to  a  finer  tilth  than  can  possibly  be  effected 
in  any  other  manner.  There  is  a  still  further  and  important 
advantage  from  this  practice,  which  ensues  from  the  attraction 
existing  between  the  clay  and  those  gases  that  are  furnished  from 
the  atmosphere,  snow,  rains  and  dews.  In  consequence  of  being 
thus  thrown  up  and  coming  in  contact  with  them,  it  seizes  upon 
the  ammonia,  and  carbonic  and  nitric  acids  which  are  in  the  air, 
and  holds  them  for  the  future  use  of  the  crops;  while  their  great 
affinity  for  manures  effectually  prevents  the  waste  of  such  as  are 
in  it. 

The  furrows  of  clay  soils  should  be  turned  over  so  as  to  lap  on 
the  preceding  and  lie  at  an  angle  of  45°;  and  for  this  purpose  the 
depth  of  the  furrow  slice  should  be  about  two-thirds  its  width. 
Thus,  a  furrow  six  inches  deep  should  be  about  nine  inches  wide, 
or  if  eight  inches  deep,  it  should  be  twelve  inches  wide.  This 
will  allow  of  the  furrows  lying  regularly  and  evenly,  and  in  the 
proper  position  for  the  drainage  of  the  soil,  the  free  circulation  of 
air,  and  the  most  efficient  action  of  frosts  which  in  this  way  have 
access  to  every  side  of  them.    Land  thus  thrown  up  is  found  to 
be  finely  pulverized  after  the  frosts  leave  it,  and  it  is  compara- 
tively dry  and  ready  for  use  some  time  earlier  than  such  as  is  not 
plowed  till  spring.    For  sowing,  land  plowed  in  this  manner 
requires  no  additional  plowing,  but  it  is  better  fitted  for  the  recep- 
tion of  seed  than  it  can  be  by  any  further  operation,  unless  by  a 
slight  harrowing  if  too  rough.    The  different  kinds  of  grain  or 
peas  may  be  dibbled  in,  or  sown  directly  upon  the  surface  and 
covered  by  the  harrow ;  and  if  sown  very  early,  the  grass  and 
clover  seeds  require  no  covering,  but  find  their  best  position  in 
the  slight  depressions  which  are  everywhere  made  by  the  frost, 
and  which  the  subsequent  rains  and  winds  fill  up  and  cover  suffi- 
ciently to  secure  a  certain  growth.    "When  a  field  is  intended  for 
planting,  and  is  thus  plowed  in  the  preceding  autumn,  in  some 
instances,  and  especially  when  the  soil  is  full  of  vegetable 
manures,  as  from  a  rich  green  sward,  a  single  furrow  where  the 


MECHANICAL  DIVISION  OP  SOILS.  103 

seed  is  to  be  dropped,  is  all  that  is  necessary  to  be  plowed  in  the 

spring.  ,  ;j\  A 

If  the  land  has  been  previously  cultivated,  (not  m  sward,)  and 
is  designed  for  planting,  a  stiff  clay  is  sometimes  ridged  up  by 
turning  a  double  furrow,  one  on  each  side,  and  so  close  as  partially 
to  lap  upon  a  narrow  and  unbroken  surface,  thus  leaving  the 
greatest  elevations  and  depressions  which  can  conveniently  be 
made  with  the  plow.  The  frost  and  air,  by  this  means,  have  a 
greater  surface  to  act  upon  than  is  afforded  by  thorough  plowing, 
unless  it  be  in  a  firm  sod,  which  maintains  its  position  without 
crumbling.  The  advantage  of  a  dry  surface  and  early  working 
are  equally  secured  by  this  latter  method;  and  to  prepare  for 
planting  the  furrows  need  only  to  be  spht  by  running  a  plow 
through  their  center,  when  they  are  ready  for  the  reception  of  the 

Plowing  Sandy  ok  Dry  Soils.— These  require  flat  plow- 
ing, which  may  be  done  when  they  are  either  quite  wet  or  dry, 
but  never  till  wanted  for  use.  By  exposure  to  heat,  rains  and 
atmospheric  influences,  the  hght  soluble  manures  are  exhaled  or 
washed  out,  and  they  receive  little  compensation  for  this  waste 
in  any  corresponding  fertility  they  derive  from  the  atmosphere  in 
return.  To  insure  flat  plowing  on  an  old  sward,  the  depth  of 
the  furrow  should  be  about  one-half  its  width,  and  the  land  or 
ridges  as  wide  as  can  conveniently  be  made,  so  as  to  preserve  as 
much  uniformity  of  surface  over  the  whole  field  as  possible. 

Depth  of  Plowing. — All  cultivated  plants  are  benefited  by 
a  deep  permeable  soil,  through  which  their  roots  can  penetrate  in 
search  of  food;  and  as  a  thorough  depth  of  soil  is  not  fully  equiv- 
alent to  its  superficial  extension,  it  is  evident  that  there  must  be 
a  great  increase  of  product  from  this  cause.  For  general  tillage 
crops,  the  depth  of  soil  may  be  gradually  augmented  to  about 
twelve  inches,  with  decided  advantage.  Such  as  are  appropriated 
to  gardens  and  horticultural  purposes,  may  be  deepened  to  fifteen 
and  even  eighteen  inches  to  the  manifest  profit  of  their  occupants. 
But  whatever  is  the  depth  of  the  soil,  the  plow  ought  to  turn  up 


104 


AMEEICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


the  entire  mass,  if  within  its  reach,  and  what  is  beyond  it  should 
be  thoroughly  broken  up  by  the  subsoil  plow,  and  some  of  it 
occasionally  incorporated  with  that  upon  the  surface.  The  sub- 
soil ought  not  to  be  brought  out  of  its  bed  exc6pt  in  small  quan- 
tities to  be  exposed  to  the  atmosphere  during  the  fall,  winter  and 
spring,  or  in  a  summer  fallow;  nor  even  then,  but  with  the 
appHcation  of  such  fertihzers  as  are  necessary  to  put  it  at  once 
into  a  productive  condition.  The  depth  of  the  soil  can  aloi^e 
determine  the  depth  of  plowing ;  and  when  that  is  too  shallow, 
the  gradual  deepening  of  it  should  be  sought  by  the  use  of 
proper  materials  for  improvement  till  the  object  is  fully  attained. 
Two  indifferent  soils  of  opposite  characters,  as  of  a  stiff  clay 
and  sliding  sand,  sometimes  occupy  the  relation  of  surface  and 
subsoil  toward  each  other ;  and  when  intimately  mixed  and  sub- 
jected to  the  meliorating  influence  of  cultivation,  they  will 
frequently  produce  a  soil  of  great  value. 

Cross  Plowing  is  seldom  necessary  except  to  break  up  tough 
sward  or  tenacious  soils  ;  and  the  former  is  more  effectually  sub- 
dued by  one  thorough  plowing  in  which  the  sod  is  so  placed  that 
decomposition  will  rapidly  ensue;  and  the  latter  is  more  certainly 
pulverized  by  incorporating  with  it  such  vegetables,  and  long  or 
unfermented  manures,  and  the  hke,  as  will  take  the  place  of  the 
decaying  sod.  The  presence  of  these  in  the  soil  lessens  the  labor 
of  cultivation,  and  greatly  increases  the  products. 

Subsoil  Plowing. — This  is  a  practice  of  comparatively  recent 
introduction,  and  it  has  been  attended  with  signal  benefit  from 
the  increase  and  certainty  of  the  crop.  It  is  performed  by  sub- 
soil plows  made  exclusively  for  this-  purpose.  The  objects  to  be 
accomphshed  are  to  loosen  the  hard  earth  below  the  reach  of  the 
ordinary  plow,  and  permit  the  ready  escape  of  the  water  which 
falls  upon  the  surface,  the  circulation  of  air,  and  a  more  ex- 
tended range  for  the  roots  of  the  plants,  by  which  they  procure 
additional  nourishment,  and  secure  the  crop  against  drought,  by 
penetrating  into  the  regions  of  perpetual  moisture.  When  all 
the  circumstances  are  favorable  to  the  use  of  the  subsoil  plow, 


MECHANICAL  DIVISION  OF  SOILS. 


105 


an  increase  in  the  crop  of  20,  30,  and  sometimes  even  50  per  cent, 
has  been  attributed  to  its  operations.  Its  maximum  influence  on 
stiff  soils  is  reached  only  where  under  draining  has  been 
thoroughly  carried  out.  Its  benefits  have  been  more  than 
doubled  when  used  in  an  impervious  clay  subsoil,  where  it  makes 
further  room  for  storing  up  stagnant  water ;  and  it  is  evident 
they  can  only  aggravate  the  faults  of  such  subsoils  as  are  natu- 
rally too  loose  and  leachy. 

PLOWS  AND  OTHER  FARM  IMPLEMENTS. 

There  are  plows  for  almost  every  situation  and  soil,  in  addition 
to  several  varieties  which  are  exclusively  used  for  the  subsoil. 
Some  are  for  heavy  lands  and  some  for  light ;  some  for  stony 
soils,  others  for  such  as  are  full  of  roots ;  while  still  another  class 
are  expressly  made  for  breaking  up  the  hitherto  untilled  prairies 
of  the  west.  Some  are  adapted  to  deep,  and  some  to  shallow 
plowing ;  and  some  are  for  plowing  around  a  hill  and  throwing 
the  furrows  either  up  or  down,  or  both  ways  alternately ;  others 
again  throw  the  soil  on  both  sides,  and  are  used  for  plowing  be- 
tween the  rows  of  corn  or  roots.  Every  farm  should  be  supplied 
with  such  plows  as  are  entirely  adapted  to  the  different  operations 
required. 

The  farmer  will  find  in  the  best  agricultural  warehouses,  all 
the  implements  necessary  to  his  operations,  with  such  descriptions 
as  will  enable  him  to  judge  of  their  merits.  Great  attention  has 
been  bestowed  on  this  subject  for  several  years  by  skillful  and 
intelligent  persons,  and  great  success  has  followed  their  efforts. 
The  United  States  may  safely  challenge  the  world  to  exhibit 
better  specimens  of  farming  tools  than  she  now  furnishes,  and 
her  course  is  still  one  of  improvement.  There  are  numerous 
competitors  for  public  favor  in  every  description  of  farm  imple- 
ments ;  and  an  intelligent  farmer  cannot  fail  to  select  such  as  are 
best  suited  to  his  own  situation  and  purposes. 

The  lest  only  should  he  used.  There  has  been  a  penny  wise 
and  pound  foolish"  policy  adopted  by  many  farmers  in  their 
•   5^  ~ 


106 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


neglect  or  refusal  to  supply  themselves  with  good  tools  to  work 
with.  They  thus  save  a  few  shillings  in  the  first  outlay,  but 
frequently  lose  ten  times  as  much  by  the  use  of  indifferent  ones, 
in  the  waste  of  labor  and  the  inefficiency  of  their  operations.  A 
farmer  should  estimate  the  value  of  his  own  and  his  laborer's 
time  as  well  as  that  of  his  teams,  by  dollars  and  cents ;  and,  if 
it  requires  one-third,  one-tenth,  or  even  one-hundredth  more  of 
either  to  accomplish  a  given  object  with  one  instrument  than 
with  another,  he  should,  before  buying  one  of  inferior  quality, 
carefully  compute  the  amount  his  false  economy  in  the  purchase 
will  cost  him  before  he  has  done  with  it.  Poor  men,  or  those 
who  wish  to  thrive,  can  ill  afford  the  extravagance  of  buying 
inferior  tools  at  however  low  a  price.  The  best  are  always  the 
cheapest ;  not  those  of  high  or  extravagant  finish,  or  in  any 
respect  unnecessarily  costly ;  but  such  as  are  plain  and  substan- 
tial, made  on  the  best  principles  and  of  the  most  durable  materials. 
To  no  tools  do  these  remarks  apply  with  so  much  force  as  to 
plows.  The  improvements  in  these  have  been  greater  than  in 
any  other  instruments,  the  best  saving  fully  one-half  the  labor 
formerly  bestowed  in  accomplishing  the  same  work. 

HARROWS. 

The  object  of  the  harrow  is  threefold :  to  pulverize  the  land, 
to  cover  the  seed,  and  to  extirpate  weeds.  Unless  the  land  be 
very  light  and  sandy,  the  operation  should  never  be  performed 
for  either  object,  except  when  sufficiently  dry  to  allow  the  crum- 
bling down  into  a  fine  mellow  surface  iinder  the  action  of  the 
harrow.  There  are  several  varieties  of  harrows :  the  triangular 
and  the  square,  both  sometimes  hinged  and  sometimes  double ; 
with  long  teeth  and  with  short  ones ;  some  thickly  set  together  and 
some  far  apart.  For  pulverizing  firmly  sodded  or  stiff  clay  lands,  a 
heavy,  compact  harrow  is  required,  with  strong  teeth  sufficiently 
spread ;  and  for  lighter  lands,  or  for  covering  seed,  the  more  ex- 
panded harrow,  with  numerous,  small  and  thickly  set  teeth.  To 
pulverize  soil,  the  harrow  should  move  as  quickly  as  possible,  so 


MECHANICAL  DIVISION  OF  SOILS.  107 

as  to  strike  the  lumps  forcibly,  and  knock  them  to  pieces ;  and 
for  this  purpose  an  active  team  is  required.  "When  the  land 
sinks  much  under  the  pressure  of  oxen  or  horses'  feet,  Hght  ani- 
mals as  mules  or  ponies  are  preferable. 

THE  ROLLER, 

Is  an  important  implement  for  many  fields.  It  is  always  use- 
ful for  pulverizing  the  soil,  which  it  does  by  breaking  down  such 
clods  and  lumps  as  escape  the  harrow,  and  thus  renders  the  field 
smooth  for  the  scythe  or  cradle ;  and  it  is  equally  so  on  meadows 
which  have  become  uneven  from  the  influence  of  frost,  ant-hills, 
or  other  causes.  It  is  serviceable  in  covering  seed  by  pressing 
the  earth  firmly  around  it,  which  thus  secures  moisture  enough 
for  germination.  But  its  greatest  benefit  is  with  such  sandy  soils 
as  are  not  sufficiently  compact  to  hold  the  roots  of  plants  firmly 
and  retain  a  suitable  moisture.  With  these  it  is  invaluable,  and 
the  proper  use  of  the  roller  has  in  some  instances  doubled  the 
product.  Its  effect  is  similar  to  that  produced  by  the  frequent 
treading  in  a  foot-path ;  and  the  observing  farmer  will  not  have 
failed  to  notice  the  single  thread  of  thick  greensward  which  marks 
its  course  over  an  otherwise  almost  barren  field  of  sand  or  loose 
gravel.  The  thickly  woven  emerald  net- work  that  indicates  the 
sheep-walks,  on  similar  soils,  is  principally  due  to  the  same  cause. 

Rollers  are  variously  constructed.  The  simplest  form  is  a 
single  wooden  shaft  with  gudgeons  at  each  end,  which  rest  in  a 
square  frame  made  by  fastening  four  joists  together,  a  tongue  for 
drawing  it  being  placed  in  one  of  its  sides.  A  box  may  be  at- 
tached to  this  frame  for  the  purpose  of  holding  stones  and  weeds 
picked  up  in  the  field,  and  for  weighting  the  roller  according  to 
the  work  required.  A  roller  should  not  exceed  eight  or  ten  feet 
in  length,  and  should  be  divided  in  the  middle  and  have  an  iron 
axle  pass  through  each  part,  upon  which  they  revolve,  taking 
care  to  diminish  the  friction  at  the  ends  by  a  thick  washer.  The 
larger  the  roller,  the  greater  the  surface  brought  into  contact  with 
the  ground,  and  the  more  level  it  leaves  it,  besides  giving  a  much 


108 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


easier  draught  to  the  team.  To  accomphsh  this  without  too  much 
increase  of  weight,  thej  are  frequently  constructed  with  heads  at 
the  ends  and  closely  covered  like  a  drum. 

The  best  rollers,  decidedly,  are  those  made  of  cast  iron  segments, 
each  revolving  independently  on  an  iron  shaft,  six  to  eight  feet  in 
length.  The  segments  should  be  about  a  foot  wide  on  the  sur- 
face, a  washer  between  each  two,  and  as  many  segments  on  the 
shaft  as  will  make  a  roller  the  desired  length.  The  frame  should 
be  of  iron,  also,  and  a  wooden  box  may  be  fitted  on  to  the  top  to 
receive  weights  or  collect  stones  fi-om  the  field,  as  may  be  required. 
The  tongue  may  be  either  of  wood  or  iron.  The  segments  may 
be  from  twenty  to  thirty-six  inches  diameter,  according  to  the 
weight  of  roller  needed.  Such  an  implement  will  last  almost 
"forever."  To  those  who  always  leave  their  tools  out  of  doors, 
it  has  an  eminent  advantage — it  will  not  rot.  But  we  house  all 
our  own  tools,  whether  wood  or  iron,  alike.  Rust  does  not 
corrode,  nor  do  thieves  often  break  through  and  steal  them. 

THE  CLOD  CRUSHER. 

This  is  a  most  admirable  and  usefiil  invention.  It  has  long 
been  used  in  Europe,  and  has  lately  been  added  to  our  American 
farm  implements.  It  is  made  in  the  same  way  as  the  last  men- 
tioned iron  roller,  only  with  the  addition  of  spikes,  or  corrugated 
sinuous  teeth.  It  breaks  the  hard  lumps  of  plowed  ground  for 
the  harrow  which  follows  it,  or  it  may  be  apphed  to  hide-bound 
and  mossy  meadows,  and  pastures,  loosening  and  breaking  the 
tough  sward,  and  fitting  it  better  to  receive  top  dressings  and 
fresh  seeds.  It  is  eminently  a  labor  saving  tool,  and  no  good 
farmer  should  be  without  it.  The  large  agricultural  machinery 
establishments  of  the  country  now  usually  supply  them. 

THE  CULTIVATOR, 

Has  a  light  frame  in  the  form  of  a  triangular  or  wedge  harrow, 
with  handles  behind  like  those  of  a  plow,  and  with  several  small 
iron  teeth  in  tlie  frfiipp,  spmewhat  resembhpg  a  double  share  plow. 


MECHANICAL  DIVISION  OF  SOILS.  iV^ 

They  are  of  various  sizes,  slightly  differing  in  construction,  and 
are  of  great  utility  in  stirring  the  surface  of  the  ground  and  do- 
stroying  weeds. 

THE  DBILL  BAEROW, 

Is  useful  for  dibbling  in  seeds,  and  when  the  surface  is  mellow, 
it  will  open  the  furrow  for  the  reception  of  the  seed,  and  drop, 
cover  and  roll  the  earth  firmly  over  it.  The  smaller  ones  are 
trundled  along  like  a  wheelbarrow,  by  hand,  and  the  larger,  for 
field  planting,  having  several  fixtures  for  drilling,  are  drawn  by 
horses.  They  are  suited  to  the  smaller  seeds,  and  some  have  been 
made  to  plant  corn,  beans  and  peas  successfully. 

SURFACE  OB  SHOVEL  PLOWS  SCARIFIERS. 

These  are  a  cheap,  hght  instrument,  much  used  in  England, 
and  to  some  extent  in  this  country,  for  paring  the  stubble  and 
grass  roots  on  the  surfaces  of  old  meadows.  These  are  raked 
together  into  heaps,  and  with  whatever  addition  there  may  be  of 
earth  or  clay  are  burnt,  and  the  ashes  and  roasted  earth  scattered 
over  the  soil.  There  is  an  apparent  objection  to  this  practice  in 
the  expulsion  of  the  carbon  and  nitrogen  stored  up  in  the  plants 
and  in  the  waste  of  the  coarse  material  of  the  decaying  vege- 
tables, which  is  so  useful  in  effecting  the  salutary  mechanical 
divisions  of  clay  soils.  But  by  a  reference  to  what  has  been  said 
on  the  efaciency  of  burnt  clay  or  broken  brick,  their  great  utility 
as  fertilizers  will  be  seen.  This  and  the  ash  of  the  plants  remain, 
and  both  are  useful  in  quickening  the  action  of  soils  and  acceler- 
ating those  changes  so  beneficial  to  vegetation;  and  even  the  re- 
absorption  of  the  atmospheric  gases,  it  is  probable  will  more  than 
compensate  for  their  equivalents  expelled  in  burning.  The  effect 
is  farther  salutary  in  destroying  grubs,  insects  and  their  larvae, 
and  the  seeds  of  noxious  weeds. 

THE  WHEEL  SPADER,  OR  TERRA-CULTOR. 

This  is  a  new  digging  implement  recently  invented,  and  in- 
tended to  spade  or  pick  the  ground,  leaving  it  in  a  finely  commi- 


liO  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 

nuted  state,  fit  to  receive  the  seed  at  once,  with  only  the  harrow 
to  follow  and  finish  the  work.  "We  have  seen  trials  of  several 
of  these  machines.  They  worked  well  in  light  loams  and  level 
ground,  unobstructed  by  stones.  But  the  power  required  for 
working  them  is  great.  A  double  team,  say  two  or  more  spans 
of  horses,  are  required,  and  the  economy  of  their  labor  over  plows 
has  not  yet  been  satisfactorily  tested.  We  trust  that  they  may 
yet  be  sufficiently  perfected  to  come  into  every  day  use.  It  will 
be  a  most  perfect  implement  for  preparing  the  soil  for  seed,  if  its 
working  can  be  brought  within  the  draught  of  ordinary  farm 
teams. 

The  lighter  hand  tools,  as  hoes,  shovels,  spades,  raKCS,  hay, 
manure  and  spading  forks,  and  a  multiplicity  of  other  small  tools, 
are  too  commonly  distributed  and  known  to  need  particular 
remark.  Various  new  and,  sometimes,  improved  patterns,  are 
constantly  coming  out  to  call  the  attention  of  the  farmer  and 
gardener. 

A  single  remark  on  these  hand  implements  may  suffice.  Al- 
ways get  the  hest  to  be  had,  and  have  enough  of  them.  More 
time  is  frequently  lost  for  the  want  of  a  cheap  famihar  tool  than 
will  twice  pay  the  cost  of  it.  No  money  is  better  expended  on 
the  farm  than  in  an  ample  provision  of  all  the  tools  and  imple- 
ments necessary  for  its  thorough  cultivation,  as  well  as  hand 
saving  labor  of  any  and  every  kind. 

The  grass  mower,  harvester  and  other  implements  for  gather- 
ing and  securing  the  grass  and  grain  crops,  will  be  mentioned 
upon  treating  of  those  important  branches  of  our  farm  labor. 
Indeed,  under  the  old  hand  systems  of  manual  labor  in  getting 
in  and  harvesting  our  farm  crops,  their  accomplishment,  in  present 
quantities,  would  be  impossible,  and  the  end  is  not  yet.  Steam 
plowing  and  cultivation,  on  our  wide  level  lands,  is  yet  to  be 
accomplished.  How  soon,  we  cannot  say,  but  measured  by  past 
inventions,  the  time,  we  trust,  is  not  far  distant.  Gang-plows, 
sulky-cultivators,  etc.,  are  among  the  trial  implements  almost  every 
year  introduced,  some  of  which  have  been  quite  successful. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE  GEASSES,  CLOYEKS,  MEADOWS  AND  PASTUEES. 

The  order  designated  by  naturalists  as  Gramince^  is  one  of  the 
largest  and  most  universally  diffused  in  the  vegetable  kingdom. 
It  is  also  the  most  important  to  man  and  to  all  the  different  tribes 
of  graminiverous  animals.  It  includes  not  only  what  are  usually 
cultivated  as  grasses,  but  also  rice,  millet,  wheat,  rye,  barley,  oats, 
maize,  sugar  cane,  broom  corn,  the  wild  cane  and  the  bamboos 
sometimes  reaching  sixty  feet  in  height.  They  are  universally 
characterized  as  having  a  cylindrical  stem,  hollow,  or  sometimes, 
as  in  the  sugar  cane  and  bamboos,  filled  with  a  pithlike  substance, 
with  sohd  joints,  and  alternate  leaves  originating  at  each  joint, 
surrounding  the  stem  at  their  base  and  forming  a  sheath  upwards 
of  greater  or  less  extent,  and  the  flowers  and  seed  are  protected 
with  a  firm,  ^trawlike  covering,  which  is  the  chaff  in  the  grain  and 
grass  seeds,  and  the  husk  in  Indian  corn.  They  yield  large  propor- 
tions of  sugar,  starch  and  fatty  matter,  besides  those  pecuharly 
animal  products,  albumen  and  fibrin e,  not  only  in  the  seeds,  but 
also  and  especially  before  the  latter  are  fully  matured,  in  the 
stems,  joints  and  leaves.  These  qualities  give  to  them  the  great 
value  which  they  possess  in  agriculture. 

Of  the  grasses  cultivated  for  the  use  of  animals  in  England, 
there  are  said  to  be  no  less  than  two  hundred  varieties,  while  in 
the  occupied  portion  of  this  country,  embracing  an  indefinitely 
greater  variety  of  latitude,  climate  and  situation,  we  hardly  cul- 
tivate twenty.  The  number  and  excellence  of  our  natural  grasses 
are  probably  unsurpassed  in  any  quarter  of  the  globe,  for  a  sim- 
ilar extent  of  country;  but  this  is  a  department  of  our  natural 


112  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 

history  liitherto  but  partially  explored,  and  we  are  left  mostly  to 
conjecture  as  to  their  number  and  comparative  quality.  From 
the  health  and  thrift  of  the  wild  animals,  the  buffalo,  deer,  etc., 
as  well  as  the  rapid  growth  and  fine  condition  of  our  domestic 
animals  when  permitted  to  range  over  the  prairies,  or  through  the 
natural  marshes  and  woods  in  every  season  of  the  year,  even 
during  the  severe  and  protracted  winters  in  latitude  44°  north,* 
the  superior  richness  and  enduringness  of  our  natural  grasses  may 
be  inferred.  We  shall  Hmit  ourselves  mostly  to  those  which 
have  been  introduced  and  successfully  cultivated  in  this  country. 

Timothy,  Cat's-tail  or  Herds-grass,  {Phleum  pratense,) — 
We  are  inchned  to  place  the  timothy  first  in  the  hst  of  the 
grasses.  It  is  indigenous  to  this  country,  and  flourishes  in  all 
soils  except  such  as  are  wet,  too  hght,  dry  or  sandy,  and  is  found 
in  perfection  on  the  rich  clays  and  clay  loams  which  he  between 
40°  and  44°  north  latitude.  It  is  a  perennial,  easy  of  cultiva- 
tion, hardy  and  of  luxuriant  growth,  and  on  its  favorite  soil, 
yields  from  one  and  a-half  to  two  tons  of  hay  per  acre  at  one 
cutting.  Sinclair  estimates  its  value  for  hay,  when  in  seed,  to  be 
double  that  cut  in  flowers.  From  its  increased  value  when  ripe 
it  is  cut  late,  and  in  consequence  of  the  exhaustion  from  maturing 
its  seed,  it  produces  but  httle  aftermath  or  rowen.  ♦It  vegetates 
early  in  the  spring,  and  when  pastured,  yields  abundantly 
throughout  the  season.  Both  the  grass  and  hay  are  highly  rel- 
ished by  cattle,  sheep  and  horses ;  and  its  nutritive  quality,  in 

*  The  writer  has  seen  large  droves  of  the  French  and  Indian  ponies  come  into  the 
settlements  about  Green  Bay  and  the  Fox  river,  in  Wisconsin,  in  the  spring,  in  good 
working  condition,  after  wintering  on  the  natural  grasses  of  that  region.  The  pony 
grass  may  perhaps  be  mentioned  as  one  of  the  principal  of  the  winter  grasses  in  that 
region.  It  grows  in  close,  thick,  elevated  tufts,  and  continues  green  all  winter,  and 
is  easily  detected  by  animals  under  the  snow,  by  the  little  hummocks  which  every- 
where indent  its  surface.  The  wild  rice  which  lines  the  still,  shallow  waters  of  the 
streams  and  small  inland  lakes  of  many  of  the  Western  States,  affords  nutritious 
forage  when  green  or  if  early  cut  and  dried ;  and  the  grain  which  is  produced  in 
great  profusion  is  an  exhaustless  store  to  the  Indians  who  push  into  the  thickest  of 
It,  and  bending  over  the  ripe  heads,  with  two  or  three  strokes  of  the  paddle  on  the 
dry  stalks,  rattle  the  grain  into  their  light  canoes.  The  wild  ducks,  geese  and  swans 
which  yet  frequent  those  waters,  fatten  on  this  grain  throughout  the  fall  and  winter. 


THE  GRASSES,  ETC. 


113 


the  opiuijnof  practical  men,  stands  decidedly  before  any  other. 
It  is  also  a  valuable  crop  for  seed,  an  acre  of  prime  grass  yield- 
ing from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  bushels  of  clean  seed,  which  is 
usually  worth  in  the  market  from  $2  to  $4  per  bushel,  and  the 
stalks  and  chaff  that  remain  make  a  useful  fodder  for  most  lands 
of  stock.  It  may  be  sown  on  wheat  or  rye  in  August  or  Sep- 
tember, or  in  the  spring.  When  sown  alone  or  with  other  grasses 
early  in  the  season  on  a  rich  soil,  it  will  produce  a  good  crop  the 
same  year.  From  its  late  ripening  it  is  not  advantageously 
mixed  with  clover  imless  upon  heavy  clays  which  hold  back  the 
clover.  We  have  tried  it  with  the  northern  or  mammoth  clover 
on  clay,  and  found  the  latter,  though  mostly  in  full  blossom,  still 
pushing  out  new  branches  and  buds  when  the  former  was  fit  to 
cut.  The  quantity  of  seed  required  per  acre  depends  something 
on  the  soil  and  its  condition.  Eight  quarts  on  a  fine  mellow  tilth 
is  sufficient,  and  is  equal  to  sixteen  on  a  stiff  clay. 

The  Tall  Fescue,  {Festuca  elatior,)  would  appear  by  the 
Woburn  experiments  to  yield  more  nutritive  matter  per  acre 
when  cut  in  flower  than  any  other  grass,  cut  either  in  flower  or 
seed.  This  is  a  native  of  the  United  States,  and  is  best  suited 
to  a  rich  loam.    It  is  not  extensively  cultivated  in  this  country. 

Meadow  Fescue,  [Festuca  pratensis,)  hkes  a  boggy  soil,  bears 
well  and  produces  an  early  grass,  much  relished  by  cattle,  either 
green  or  cured  as  hay. 

Spiked  Fescue,  {F,  loleaceaj)  is  adapted  to  a  rich  loam,  and 
produces  the  best  of  hay  and  pasture. 

The  Purple  Fescue,  {F.  rubra;)  Sheep's  Fescue,  (F  ovina;) 
The  Hard  Fescue,  (F.  duriuscula;)  and  The  Floating  Fes- 
cue, [Ffluitans;)  are  all  indigenous  to  this  country,  and  good 
pasture  grasses. 

Orchard  or  Cock's-foot  G-rass,  {Dactylis  glomerata,)  is 
indigenous,  and  for  good  arable  soils,  and  especially  for  such  as 
are  shaded,  it  is  one  of  the  most  profitable  grasses  grown.  It 
should  be  cut  for  hay  before  it  is  ripe,  as  in  seeding  it  becomes 
coarse  and  hard  and  is  less  acceptable  to  cattle.    It  is  ready  for 


114  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 

the  scythe  with  the  clover,  and  after  cutting,  it  immediately 
springs  up  and  furnishes  several  crops  of  hay  or  constant  pastur- 
age throughout  the  season.  It  should  be  fed  closely  to  secure  a 
tender,  succulent  herbage.  The  seed  is  remarkably  hght,  weigh- 
mg  only  twelve  or  fifteen  pounds  per  bushel.  Twenty  to  thirty 
pounds  are  usually  sown  upon  one  acre;  yet  ten  pounds  on  finely 
prepared  soils  have  been  known  to  produce  a  good  sod  over  the 
entire  ground.  It  flourishes  from  Maine  to  Georgia.  Its  indi- 
gnation to  grow  in  stools  or  tussocks,  however,  is  an  objection,  as  a 
meadow  grass. 

Smooth-stalked,  Meadow,  Green,  Spear  or  June  Grass, 
the  (erroneously  called)  Blue  Grass  of  Kentucky,  {Poa  pra- 
tensis,)  is  highly  esteemed  for  hay  and  pasture.    It  is  indigenous 
and  abounds  through  the  country,  and  is  seen  in  its  highest  perfec- 
tion in  strong  hmestone  soils,  and  particularly  in  the  valleys  of  the 
streams  west  of  the  Allegany  mountains,  where  it  is  seen  in  all 
its  glory.    The  seed  ripens  in  June  and  falls  upon  the  ground, 
where  the  succeeding  rains  give  it  vitahty  and  it  pushes  out  its 
long,  rich  slender  leaves,  one  to  two  feet  in  height,  which  in 
autumn  fall  over  in  thick  windrows,  matting  the  whole  surface 
with  luscious  herbage.    Upon  these  fields,  which  have  been  care- 
fully  protected  tiU  the  other  forage  is  exhausted,  the  cattle  are 
turned  and  fatten  through  the  winter.    It  maintains  its  freshness 
and  nutritive  properties  in  spite  of  frost,  and  the  cattle  easily 
reach  it  through  the  hght  snows  which  fall  upon  it.     A  warm, 
dry,  calcareous  soil,  seems  to  be  its  natural  element,  and  it  flour- 
ishes only  in  a  rich  upland. 

Flat-stalked  Meadow  or  Blue  Grass,  {Poa  compressa,) 
is  an  early  dwarfish  grass,  which  abounds  in  the  Middle  and 
Northern  States.  It  is  tenacious  of  its  foothold  wherever  it 
intrudes.  It  possesses  httle  merit  as  hay,  but  is  valuable  for 
pasture,  affording  as  it  does  a  close  covering  to  the  ground  and 
yielding  much  in  a  small  compass. 

The  Roughish  Meadow  Grass,  {Poa  trivialis,)  has  much  the 
appearance  of  the  poa  pratensis,  but  its  stalk  feels  rough  to  the 


THE  GRASSES,  ETC. 


115 


touch  while  the  other  is  smooth.  It  has  the  further  dijBference  of 
preferring  moist  or  wet  loams  or  clay.  It  yields  well  and  affords 
good  hay  and  pasture. 

Tall  Oat  Grass,  {Avena  elatior,)  is  an  early  luxuriant  grass, 
growing  to  the  height  sometimes  of  five  feet.  It  makes  good 
hay,  but  is  better  suited  to  pasture.  It  flourishes  in  a  loam  or 
clay  soil. 

Meadow  Fox-tail,  (Alopecurus  pratensis^)  is  a  highly 
esteemed  grass  in  England,  both  for  meadows  and  pastures.  It 
grows  early  and  abundantly,  and  gives  a  large  c[uantity  of  after- 
math. It  is  best  suited  to  a  moist  soil,  bog,  clay,  or  loam.  It  is 
indigenous  to  the  Middle  States. 

Perennial  Rye  Grass,  [LoUum  perenne,)  and  Biennial 
AND  Italian  ditto,  are  all  grasses  highly  esteemed  in  Europe, 
but  repeated  trials  in  this  country  have  given  no  satisfactory 
results.  They  yield  indifferently  with  us,  and  easily  winter  kill. 
Careful  cultivation  under  favorable  circumstances,  may  yet  accli- 
mate and  render  them  useful  grasses. 

FiORiN  Grass,  {Agrostis  stolonifera^)  has  been  much  lauded 
in  England  of  late,  but  has  made  httle  progress  in  the  estimation 
of  American  farmers,  and  probably  with  sufficient  reason.  It  is 
a  diminutive  grass,  affording  considerable  nutriment  in  a  con- 
densed form,  and  is  adapted  to  a  winter  pasture.  It  grows  on  a 
moist  clay  or  boggy  soil.  §everal  of  the  florin  family  abound  in 
this  country,  among  which  is  the  squitch,  couch  or  quick  grass. 

The  sweet  scented  Vernal  Grass,  [Anthoxanthum  odora- 
turn,)  is  an  early,  valuable  pasture  grass,  which  exhales  that 
dehghtful  perfume,  so  characteristic  of  much  of  the  Eastern 
meadow  hay.  It  is  a  late  as  well  as  early  grass,  and  luxuriates 
in  a  dry,  sandy  loam.  It  affords  two  and  sometimes  three  crops 
in  a  single  season. 

Red  Top,  Herds-grass,  Foul  Meadow,  or  Fine  Bent, 
{Agrostis  vulgaris,)  is  a  hardy,  luxuriant  grass,  loving  a  very 
moist  soil,  and  somewhat  indifierent  as  to  its  texture.  It  grows 
luxuriantly  under  favorable  circumstances,  and  is  much  rehshed 


116 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


bj  cattle ;  but  by  observing  farmers  it  is  seldom  cultivated  where 
the  better  grasses  will  grow.    It  makes  excellent  stock  hay. 

Upright  Bent  Grass,  Herds  grass  or  Foul  Meadow, 
(^Agrostis  stricta,)  is  similar  to  the  foregoing,  and  by  some  is 
deemed  only  a  variety. 

American  or  Swamp  Cock's-foot,  {^Dactylis  cynosuroides^) 
is  an  indigenous  swamp  grass,  yielding  a  large  amount  of  grass 
or  hay  of  inferior  quality. 

E.IBBON  GnASQj  (Phalaris  Arundinacia)is  the  beautiful  striped 
,  grass  occasionally  used  for  garden  borders.  It  has  been  highly 
recommended  for  swamps,  where  it  is  alleged  that  by  trans- 
planting, it  supercedes  all  other  grasses,  and  affords  a  fine  quality 
of  hay,  of  an  appearance  quite  different  from  the  upland  growth. 
The  writer  tried  several  experiments  both  with  the  seed  and 
roots,  on  a  clay  marsh  without  success.  Its  proper  pabulum  is 
probably  a  carbonaceous  soil,  such  as  is  found  in  an  alluvial 
swamp  or  peat  bed. 

Gam  A  Grass,  [Tripsacum  dactyloides,)  is  found  growing  spon- 
taneously on  a  naked  sand  beach  in  Stratford,  Ct.,  and  in  other 
places  on  our  Eastern  coasts.  It  has  occasionally  been  much 
lauded,  but  is  a  coarse,  rough  grass  at  the  North,  and  seems  not 
to  be  highly  prized  at  the  South.  We  have  the  opinion  of  some 
intelligent  men  in  the  latter  section,  that  it  is  utterly  worthless 
for  any  stock. 

Bermuda  Grass. — This  is  considered  by  Mr.  Spalding,  of 
Georgia,  who  examined  them  both  critically  from  specimens 
which  he  raised  together,  as  the  Douh  grass  of  India^  so  much 
commended  by  Sir  William  Jones,  and  so  highly  prized  by  the 
Brahmins.  It  is  by  the  agriculturists  of  the  South  deemed  an 
invaluable  grass,  yielding  four  or  five  tong  per  acre  on  good 
meadow.  Mr.  Affleck,  of  Mississippi,  states  the  yield  of  three 
cuttings  at  "five  to  eight  tons  per  acre  on  common  meadow,  that 
it  loses  just  50  per  cent,  of  its  weight  in  drying,  and  is  conse- 
quently the  hardest  grass  to  cut.  It  is  the  most  nutritive  grass 
known,  and  to  the  river  planter  it  is  invaluable.    There  is  not  a 


THE  GRASSES,  ETC. 


117 


levee  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  which  could  resist  for  an 
hour  the  pressure  and  attrition  of  its  fearful  flood  but  for  their 
being  bound  together  with  this  grass."  It  loves  a  warm  and 
moist,  but  not  wet  soil. 

Grama  {''la  grama,''  or  the  "grass  of  grasses,")  is  held  in  the 
highest  estimation  by  the  Mexicans.  It  attains  a  medium  height, 
and  is  deemed  the  most  nutritious  of  the  natural  grasses  in  our 
south-western  frontier  prairies,  in  Cahfornia  and  parts  of  Mexico. 
It  grows  on  dry,  hard,  gravelly  soils,  on  side  hills,  the  swells  of 
the  prairies,  and  the  gentle  elevations  in  the  valleys.  The  prin- 
cipal value  is  found  in  the  numerous  seeds,  which  are  retained  in 
the  pods  with  great  tenacity  long  after  they  are  ripe,  serving  as 
a  luxurious  food  for  all  the  granivorous  beasts  and  fowls  of  the 
western  region.* 

The  Buffalo  Grass  is  found  intermixed  with  the  grama, 
and  seldom  grows  more  than  a  few  inches  in  height.  It  forms  a 
thick,  soft  herbage,  on  which  the  traveler  walks  with  ease,  and 
reposes  when  weary,  with  dehght.  It  yields  a  rich  sustenance 
to  countless  herds  of  wild  cattle,  buffaloes,  deer,  antelopes,  etc. 
This  is  the  great  grass  of  the  buffalo  ranges  of  the  wide  North- 
western plains,  and  will  prove  of  immense  value  to  the  extensive 
herds  of  cattle  which  in  the  future  are  to  graze  those  immense 
regions  of  countrv. 

There  are  various  other  grasses  and  leguminous  plants  in  our 
Southern  Gulf  States,  little  known  as  yet,  or  recently  brought  to 
notice,  which  may  prove  valuable  either  in  cultivation,  or  in  their 
natural  condition,  as  found  on  the  wide  savannas  which  spread 
over  the  wide  ranges  of  that  hitherto  but  partially  explored  region. 
Among  these  are  the 

Mesquit,  a  popular  name,  known  in  Texas,  and  apphed  to  a 
variety  of  grasses,  described  by  Rev.  C.  "W.  Howard,  in  the  Pat- 
ent Office  Report  for  1860.  These  are  considered  highly  valua- 
ble as  grazing  forage,  and  hay.  They  are  described  as  soft,  wavy, 
and  succulent. 

*  This  name  is  applied  to  a  variety  of  grasses,  of  different  species,  and  even  of  dif- 
ferent genera. 


118 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


The  Prairie  Grasses  are  found  abundantly  in  the  western 
prairies  and  afford  large  supplies  of  nutritious  food,  both  as  pas- 
turage and  hay.  As  a  general  rule,  however,  they  are  coarse, 
and  easily  injured  by  the  early  frosts  of  autumn.  Some  of  the 
leguminosse,  or  wild  pea  vines,  which  are  frequently  found 
among  them,  yield  the  richest  herbage.  We  are  not  aware  that 
any  of  these  grasses  have  been  cultivated  with  success. 

TussAC  Grass,  {Dactylis  cespitosa^)  is  a  luxuriant  salt  marsh 
grass,  growing  in  large  tufts,  and  is  found  in  perfection  on  its 
native  soil,  the  Falkland  Islands,  between  51°  and  52°  south, 
and  about  8°  east  of  the  straits  of  Magellan.  Captain  Ross 
describes  it  as  "the  gold  and  glory  of  those  islands.  Every 
animal  feeds  upon  it  with  avidity,  and  fattens  in  a  short  time. 
The  blades  are  about  six  feet  long  and  from  two  hundred  to  three 
hundred  shoots  spring  from  a  single  plant.  About  four  inches 
of  the  root  eats  like  the  mountain  cabbage.  It  loves  a  rank, 
wet,  peat  bog,  with  the  sea  spray  over  it."  Governor  Hood,  of 
those  islands,  says,  "to  cultivate  the  tussac,  I  would  recommend 
that  the  seed  be  sown  in  patches,  just  below  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  and  at  distances  of  about  two  feet  apart,  and  afterwards 
weeded  out,  as  it  grows  very  luxuriantly,  and  to  the  height  of 
six  or  seven  feet.  It  should  not  be  grazed,  but  reaped  or  cut  in 
bundles.  If  cut,  it  quickly  shoots  up;  but  is  injured  by  grazing, 
particularly  by  pigs,  who  tear  it  up  to  get  at  the  sweet  nutty 
root." 

Arundo  Grass,  {^Arundo  alopecurus.) — Mr.  Hooker,  from  the 
same  islands,  says,  "another  grass,  however,  far  more  abundant 
and  universally  distributed  over  the  whole  country,  scarcely 
yields  in  its  nutritious  qualities  to  the  tussac ;  I  m.ean  the  Arundo 
Alopecurus,  which  covers  every  peat  bog  with  a  dense  and  rich 
clothing  of  green  in  summer,  and  a  pale  yellow,  good  hay  in  the 
winter  season.  This  hay,  though  formed  by  nature  without 
being  mown  and  dried,  keeps  those  cattle  which  have  not  access 
to  the  former  grass,  in  excellent  condition.  No  bog,  however 
rank,  seems  too  bad  for  this  plant  to  luxuriate  in ;  and  as  we 


THE  GRASSES,  ETC. 


119 


remarked  during  our  survey  of  Port  "William,  although  the  soil 
on  the  quartz  districts  was  very  unprolific  in  many  good  grasses 
which  flourish  on  the  clay  slate,  and  generally  speaking,  of  the 
worst  description,  still  the  Arundo  did  not  appear  to  feel  the 
change;  nor  did  the  cattle  fail  to  eat  down  large  tracts  of  this 
pasturage." 

We  have  purposely  devoted  some  space  to  the  description  of 
such  new  grasses  as  are  indigenous  to  this  continent,  and  which 
by  their  superior  value  in  their  native  localities  would  seem  to 
commend  themselves  to  a  thorough  trial  in  similar  situations 
elsewhere.  There  are  doubtless  others  of  great  merit,  which 
experiment  hereafter,  wiU  demonstrate  to  be  of  singular  benefit 
to  the  American  farmer.  The  subject  of  grasses  has  been  but 
slightly  investigated  in  this  country  in  comparison  with  their 
immense  importance ;  and  for  this  reason,  with  few  exceptions, 
we  are  at  a  loss  for  the  true  value  of  the  foreign  and  indigenous 
grasses  to  American  husbandry. 

As  an  instance  of  the  want  of  a  well  established  character  to 
some  of  our  cultivated  grasses,  we  quote  the  opinions  of  Dr. 
Muhlenburgh,  of  Pennsylvania,  who  has  written  ably  on  the 
subject,  and  the  late  John  Taylor,  a  distinguished  agriculturist 
of  Virginia,  both  of  whom  place  the  tall  oat  grass  (^Avena  elatior,) 
at  the  head  of  the  grasses;  yet  from  the  investigations  made  at 
Wobum,  it  appears  among  the  poorest  in  the  amount  of  nutritive 
matter  yielded  per  acre.  Dr.  Darlington,  also  of  Pennsylvania, 
does  not  mention  it,  but  gives  the  following  as  comprehending 
"those  species  which  are  considered  of  chief  value  in  our 
meadows  and  pastures,  naming  them  in  what  we  consider  the 
order  of  their  excellence.  1.  Meadow  or  green  grass,  [Poapra- 
tensis.)  2.  Timothy,  (^Phleum  pratense.)  3.  Orchard  grass, 
(^Dactylis  glomerata.)  4.  Meadow  fescue,  {^Festuca  pratensis.) 
5.  Blue  grass,  (Poa  compressa.)  6.  Eay  grass,  (LoUum perenne.) 
7.  Red  top,  (^Agrostis  vulgaris,)  8.  Sweet  scented  vernal  grass, 
[Anthoxanthum  odoratum") 


120 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


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122 


AMERICAN  AaRICULTURE. 


The  sweet  scented,  soft  grass,  or  holy  grass,  {Holcus  odoratus,) 
according  to  the  Wobum  table  is  next  to  the  tall  fescue  and 
timothy  in  point  of  nutritive  matter  to  the  acre,  when  cut  in  seed, 
and  it  is  placed  as  far  in  advance  of  all  others  in  the  value  of  its 
aftermath;  yet  scarcely  any  other  authority  mentions  it  with 
commendation.  "Without  relying  on  these  experiments  as  an  un- 
erring guide  for  the  American  farmer,  we  append  the  table  on  the 
two  preceding  pages,  as  the  fullest  and  most  correct  we  have  on 
the  subject,  and  as  affording  a  useful  reference  to  some  of  the 
leading  and  most  valuable  of  the  English  grasses,  most  of  which 
are  more  or  less  cultivated  in  this  country. 

Sowing  Grass  Seed. — As  a  general  rule,  grass  seeds  do  best 
when  sown  early  in  the  spring,  on  a  fine  tilth  or  mellow  soil.  If 
this  is  done  while  the  frost  is  leaving  the  ground,  no  harrowing 
will  be  necessary,  as  the  spring  rains  wash  the  seed  into  the  honey- 
comb left  by  the  frost,  and  secure  to  it  an  early  germination. 
They  are  also  successfully  sown  in  August  or  September,  when 
the  fall  rains  will  generally  give  them  sufficient  growth  to  with- 
stand the  effects  of  the  succeeding  v/inter,  if  the  land  be  free 
from  standing  or  surface  water.  It  has  recently  been  the  practice 
of  many  judicious  farmers  to  renovate  their  old  worn  out  meadows 
by  giving  them  a  coating  of  unfermented  manure,  and  then  turn 
the  sod  completely  over.  On  the  surface  thus  plowed,  a  dress- 
ing of  well  rotted  manure  or  compost  with  ashes,  is  spread  and 
thoroughly  harrowed  lengthwise  of  the  furrows.  The  seed  is 
then  sown  and  shghtly  harrowed  in,  and  the  decomposing  manure 
with  the  stubble  and  roots  of  the  sod  give  an  immediate  and  lux- 
uriant growth.  Grain  may  occupy  the  land  with  the  grass  seed, 
but  if  the  latter  be  sown  alone  and  sufficiently  thick,  the  young 
plants  will  exclude  the  weeds  and  occupy  the  soil  as  profitably  as 
I  can  be  done  with  the  grain.  There  is  usually  a  great  deficiency 
of  grass  seed  sown  when  permanent  meadows  or  pastures  are 
required.  The  Enghsh  method  is  to  mix  together  and  sow  on  a 
single  acre,  without  any  grain,  a  bushel  or  more  of  various  seeds, 
which  are  best  adapted  to  the  purpose.    A  auick  and  full  growth 


THE  GRASSES,  ETC. 


123 


rapidly  covers  the  surface  with  a  rich  herbage,  surpassing  in 
value  that  of  the  best  natural  pastures  or  meadows. 

The  usual  method  of  sowing  grass  seeds  has  been  by  hand, 
broadcast,  and  is  still  a  good  way,  when  done  by  an  experienced 
hand ;  but  it  should  always  be  in  still  weather,  as  wind  will  blow 
the  seed  into  unequal  portions  over  the  ground.  Seed  sowers  of 
various  kinds  have  lately  been  introduced,  some  one  or  more  of 
which  may  be  preferable  in  distributing  the  seed  evenly  and  more 
rapidly  than  by  hand  sowing.  "We  commend  the  use  of  machines 
in  all  cases  where  they  are  an  evident  improvement  on  hand 
labor. 

Lands  that  should  be  kept  in  perpetual  grass,  are 
such  as  are  frequently  under  water,  as  salt  and  fresh  water 
meadows ;  such  as  are  liable  to  overflow,  as  the  rich  bottom  or 
interval  lands  upon  a  river  bank;  heavy  tenacious  clays,  and 
mountain  or  steep  hillside  land,  which  is  peculiarly  liable  to  wash 
from  rains.  The  low  bottom  lands  generally  receive  one  or  more 
annual  dressings  from  the  overflowing  waters.  The  fertilizing 
matters  thus  deposited  are  converted  into  hay,  and  become  a 
reliable  source  for  increasing  the  muck  heap  for  other  parts  of  the 
farm  without  demanding  anything  in  return.  The  thick  sward 
of  nutritious  grasses  which  nature  has  so  lavishly  supplied  to 
them,  is  an  eflectual  protection  against  abrasion  and  waste  from 
the  overflowing  water,  while  the  crop,  if  at  any  time  submerged, 
can  receive  comparatively  little  injury.  If  plowed,  and  the  fine 
loose  earth  is  exposed  to  a  sweeping  current,  much  of  the  soil 
and  all  the  crop  may  be  lost. 

Strong  clay  lands  cannot  be  properly  worked  without  much 
labor,  unless  when  under  drained  and  well  filled  with  manure ; 
and  they  seldom  exist  in  the  former  condition  in  this  country. 
Yet  these  soils,  next  to  the  fertile,  self-sustaining  bottom  lands, 
are  the  most  profitable  for  the  various  grasses.  When  put  into 
this  crop,  after  first  clearing  off  the  native  growth  of  wood,  the 
fine  vegetable  mold  at  the  surface,  aided  by  the  magazine  of  sup- 
plies contained  in  the  clay  below,  gives  to  them  the  most  certain 


124 


AMERICAN  AGEICULTURE. 


and  permanent  growth.  When  once  plowed  this  mold  is  turned 
under  and  the  intractable  clay  takes  its  place  on  the  surface ; 
which,  lacking  those  peculiarities  of  color,  texture  and  chemical 
composition,  we  have  before  shown  are  essential  to  the  most  suc- 
cessful vegetation,  the  grass  is  thin  and  comparatively  unpro- 
ductive for  years.  When  necessary  to  break  up  such  lands,  they 
should  be  thoroughly  plowed,  and  manured  on  the  surface  after- 
wards, evenly  laid  down,  and  heavily  seeded  to  grass ;  and  if  any 
deficiency  of  seed  or  growth  is  manifested  they  should  receive  an 
addition  of  seed  with  a  compost  dressing. 

The  injury  to  plowing  steep  side  hills  is  sufaciently  apparent, 
as  not  oily  the  soluble  matters,  but  many  of  the  finer  particles 
of  the  soil  are  washed  out  and  carried  far  beyond  reach.  Such 
lands  should  be  kept  in  permanent  pasture  if  not  suitable  for 
mowing.  If  fed  off  by  sheep,  they  drop  most  of  their  manure 
on  the  higher  points  which  is  partially  washed  down  and  sustains 
the  fertility  of  every  part.  There  is  still  another  class  of  lands 
that  should  not  be  broken  up  for  meadows.  These  are  such  as 
are  filled  with  small  stones,  from  the  surface  of  which  they  have 
been  cleared,  but  which  plowing  and  harrowing  will  again  bring 
to  it  and  there  leave  a  perpetual  annoyance  to  the  mower. 

The  Means  of  Renovating  Permanent  Meadows  and 
Pastures.— The  general  theory  adopted  in  regard  to  pasture 
lands,  is  that  they  are  manured  sufaciently  by  the  animals  feed- 
ing  on  them.  This  opinion  is  only  partially  correct.  Pastures 
wear  out  less  than  other  lands,  but  when  milk  cows  and  working 
animals  are  fed  upon  them,"  they  carry  off  much  of  the  produce 
of  the  soil  which  is  never  again  returned  to  it.  Even  the  wool 
and  carcass  of  sheep,  with  the  ordinary  escape  of  the  salts  by  the 
washing  of  the  rains,  will,  after  along  time,  impoverish  the  land. 
How  much  more  rapidly  when  much  of  the  manure  and  all  the 
milk,  which  is  rich  in  all  the  elements  of  plants,  is  daily  carried 
from  the  soil.  To  such  an  extent  have  the  permanent  clay  pas- 
tures of  Cheshire  (in  England,)  been  impoverished,  that  it  has 
been  found  necessary  to  manure  them  with  crushed  bones,  which 


I  THE  GRASSES,  ETC.  125 

at  once  broi^glit  up  tlieir  value  more  tlian  100  per  cent.  There 
is  much  phosphate  of  lime  in  milk,  and  bones  which  are  mostly 
of  the  same  material  are  the  best  manure  that  could  be  used  for 
dairy  pastures.  Wool  contains  a  large  proportion  of  sulphur,  and 
sulphate  of  lime  (gypsum)  becomes  a  proper  manure  for  sheep 
pastures;  bat  whatever  has  a  tendency  to  develop  vegetation, 
will  generally  accomplish  the  object  by  yielding  all  the  needful 
properties.  Ashes  and  salt  are  of  the  highest  value  for  pasture 
lands,  and  with  the  addition  in  some  instances  of  lime,  bones  and 
gypsum,  arje  all  that  would  ever  be  necessary  for  permanent  pas- 
tures. Frbm  the  peculiar  action  of  these,  instead  of  growing 
poorer,  pastures  may  become  richer  through  every  successive  year. 

Permanent  meadow  lands,  if  constantly  cropped  without  manures, 
may  he  exhausted  with  much  greater  rapidity  than  pastures,  though 
this  depreciation  is  much  more  gradual  than  with  tillage  lands. 
There  is  no  greater  mistake  than  to  suppose  they  will  keep  in 
condition  by  taking  off  one  annual  crop  only,  and  either  pastur- 
ing the  aftf;rmath  or  leaving  it  to  decay  on  the  ground.  By  re- 
curring to  I  the  table  of  the  ash  of  plants,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
analysis  oi  hay  there  given  shows  over  five  per  cent.,  while  dried 
clover  yie'ds  from  seven  to  nine  per  cent.,  of  earthy  matter. 
Every  pai  tide  of  this  is  essential  to  the  success  of  the  plant,  and 
yet  if  the  land  produces  at  the  rate  of  three  tons  per  acre,  they 
are  taken  ^ff  to  the  amount  of  upwards  of  300  pounds  per  an- 
num. N4  soils  but  such  as  are  periodically  flooded  with  enrich- 
ing water  I,  can  long  suffer  such  a  drain  with  impunity.  They 
must  he  renewed  with  the  proper  manures,  or  barrenness  will  ensue. 
Ashes,  lime,  bones  and  gypsum,  (the  latter  especially  to  be  ap- 
plied to  clovers,  its  good  effects  not  being  so  marked  on  the  grasses,) 
are  essential  to  maintain  fertility,  and  to  insure  the  greatest  pro- 
duct, animal  or  vegetable  manures  must  also  be  added.  The 
proper  manner  of  applying  these  fertilizers  is  by  scattering  them 
over  the  surface  when  the  grass  is  just  commencing  a  vigorous 
growth  in  spring,  or  simultaneously  with  the  first  rains  after 
mowing.    The  growing  vegetation  soon  buries  them  under  its 


126  AMERICAN  AGEICULTURE.  ; 

thick  foliage,  and  the  refreshing  showers  wash  the  soluble  matters 
into  the  roots ;  and  even  the  gases  that  would  otherwise  escape, 
are  immediately  absorbed  by  the  dense  leaves  and  stalks  which 
everywhere  surround  it.  The  loss  of  any  kind  of  manure  is 
trifling,  even  in  a  state  of  active  decomposition,  when  scattered 
broadcast  under  such  circumstances. 

Pasturing  Meadows. — There  is  no  objection  to  feeding  off 
meadows  in  early  autumn,  while  the  ground  is  dry  and  the  sod 
firm.  The  roots  of  the  grass  are  rather  benefited  than  injured 
by  the  browsing  and  the  land  is  improved  by  the  droppings  from 
the  cattle,  and  more  particularly  by  sheep.  But  they  should 
never  be  pastured  in  spring.  It  is  economy  to  purc|^\se  hay  at 
any  price  rather  than  to  spring-pasture  meadows. 

EoTATiON  ON  Grass  Lands. — Most  soils  admit  of  a  profit- 
able rotation  or  change  of  crops,  and  where  this  is  the  case,  it  is 
generally  better  to  allow  grasses  to  make  up  one  of  the  items  in 
this  rotation.  "Where  these  are  successfiilly  grown  in  permanent 
meadows,  this  change  or  breaking  up  is  less  to  be  sought  on  their 
own  account  than  for  the  other  crops,  which  do  better  for  having 
a  rich  fresh  turf  to  revel  in.  Thus,  potatoes  are  sour  der,  better, 
and  yield  more  on  turf  than  on  old  plowed  ground ;  arid  the  grain 
crops  are  generally  more  certain  and  abundant  than  on  other 
lands.  But  there  are  many  of  the  light  soils  which  retain  the 
grasses  only  for  a  short  time.  These  should  be  j  laced  in  a 
rotation  which  never  assigns  more  than  two  years  to  grass. 

Time  for  Cutting  Grass. — This  must  depend  on  the  kind 
of  grass.  We  have  seen  that  timothy  affords  nearly  double  the 
quantity  of  nutriment  in  seed  that  it  does  in  its  early  flower,  and 
it  is  then  much  more  rehshed  by  stock.  Timothy,  therefore, 
should  never  be  cut  except  when  the  seed  is  formed.  The  proper 
time  is  when  it  is  between  the  milk  and  dough  state,  and  will 
nearly  ripen  after  cutting.  Orchard  grass,  on  the  other  hand, 
although  it  possesses  two-sevenths  more  nutritive  value  for  hay 
in  the  seed,  yet  as  it  is  more  tender  and  preferred  by  stock  when  ' 


THE  GRASSES,  ETC. 


127 


cut  in  the  flower,  and  as  it  continues  to  grow  rapidly  afterwards, 
should  be  always  cut  at  that  time. 

CuRiNa  Grass. — Many  farmers  do  not  consider  the  scorching 
effects  of  our  cloudless  July  suns,  and  the  consequence  is  that 
hay  is  too  much  dried  in  this  country.  Unless  the  crop  be  very 
large,  grass  will  generally  cure  sufficiently  when  exposed  in  the 
swath  for  two  days.  "When  shook  or  stirred  out,  it  should  not 
remain  in  this  condition  beyond  the  first  day,  as  it  will  lose  much 
of  its  nutritive  juices ;  nor  should  dew  or  rain  be  permitted  to 
fall  upon  it  unless  in  cocks.  It  is  better,  after  partially  drying, 
to  expose  it  for  three  or  four  days  in  the  cock.  Hay  should  go 
into  the  barn  or  stack,  not  crisp  and  dry,  but  slightly  soft  and 
moist  in  its  own  juices,  and  as  soon  as  properly  cured  place  it 
under  cover. 

THE  MOWING  MACHINE. 

This  wonderfiil  improvement  in  the  hay  harvest  is  now  in  such 
general  use,  and  so  widely  distributed  throughout  the  country, 
that  they  need  be  only  alluded  to  in  recommending  the  use  of 
them  on  all  lands'where  they  can  be  worked ;  and  the  compe- 
tition in  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  the  various  patterns  is  so 
brisk  that  no  farmer  need  be  at  a  loss  in  his  selection.  Happily, 
in  order  to  use  the  machine,  the  farmer  has  been  compelled  to 
smooth  his  meadows  by  freeing  them  from  stones  and  other  ob- 
structions, and  rolling  their  surfaces — an  improvement  to  the 
product  of  the  grass  as  well  as  to  the  facility  of  working  them. 

THE  HAY  TEDDER,  OR  SPREADER. 

When  the  crop  is  heavy,  the  labor  of  curing  it  has  been  greatly 
facilitated  and  cheapened  by  the  use  of  the  different  kinds  of  hay 
tedder,  or  spreader,  worked  by  horse  power,  lately  invented  and 
brought  into  use.  With  light  crops — a  ton  or  so  to  the  acre — it 
is  not  so  much  needed ;  but  with  heavy  crops,  needing  to  be 
turned  over  for  drying,  it  is,  at  present  prices  for  labor,  indispen- 


128 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


sable.  The  work  can  thus  be  done  in  fair  weather  in  one-hall 
or  one-quarter  the  time  it  would  take  by  hand  labor. 

THE  HORSE  RAKE. 

This  implement  is  indispensable  on  all  meadows  where  they  can 
be  worked.  There  are  various  patterns  of  these,  as  the  revolv- 
ing flat  rake,  and  the  wheel  sulky,  or  wire  spring  tooth  imple- 
ment, with  a  seat  and  hand  governor  for  the  driver,  the  latter 
of  which  we  prefer  for  rapid  and  easy  work.  They  rake  clean, 
and  enable  the  grass  to  be  thrown  into  large  windrows,  where, 
when  raked  partially  green,  it  will  cure  equally  well  in  dry 
weather  as  when  in  cock.  But  if  the  weather  be  catching^  it  is 
better  to  put  it  up  in  well  rounded  cocks. 

THE  HORSE  HAY  FORK. 

This  article  has  of  late  come  in  use  where  large  hay  harvests 
are  to  be  secured.  There  are  several  varieties,  and  most  of  them 
good.  They  save  a  deal  of  severe  hand  labor,  and  much  time 
in  storing  the  hay.  The  manner  of  their  use  is  readily  imder- 
stood  and  fully  explained  wherever  the  implement  is  to  be  pur- 
chased. 

The  hay  knife,  for  cutting  down  mows  and  stacks,  and  forks 
for  pitching,  are  too  familiar  to  need  remark,  only  that  they  be 
of  the  best.  A  reference  to  the  implement  catalogues  of  our 
manufacturers  and  dealers  will  supply  all  the  information  neces- 
sary on  these  several  matters. 

THE  CLOVERS, 

Sometimes  improperly  called  grasses,  are  botanically  arranged 
in  the  order,  leguminosce.  under  the  same  head  with  the  bean, 
pea,  locust,  vetches,  etc.  More  than  160  species  of  clover  have 
been  described  by  naturalists.  Their  properties  and  characteristics 
are  totally  unlike  the  grasses,  with  which  they  agree  only  in 
their  contributing  in  a  similar  manner  to  the  support  of  farm 
stock.     There  are  many  varieties  cultivated  abroad,  but  the 


THE  GRASSES,  ETC.  129 

attention  of  farmers  in  this  country  has  been  hmited  to  a  very 
few; 

The  Common  Red  or  Northern  Clover,  {TrifoUum 
pratense^)  a  biennial,  and  occasionally  on  calcareous  soils,  a  tri- 
ennial, is  the  species  most  generally  in  use  in  the  United  States. 
This  is  a  hardy,  easily  cultivated  variety,  growing  luxuriantly  on 
every  properly  drained  soil  of  sufficient  strength  to  afford  it  nutri- 
ment. It  has  numerous  strong  well  developed  stems,  branching 
outwardly  and  vertically  from  a  single  seed,  and  bearing  broad 
thick  leaves  which  are  surmounted  by  a  large  reddish  purple 
flower.  By  the  analysis  of  Davy,  the  whole  plant  yields  an 
amount  of  nutritive  matter  fully  equal  to  any  other  of  the 
clovers. 

Mode  of  Cultivation. — Clover  may  be  sown  broadcast  either 
in  August  or  September,  but  much  better  and  surer  early  in  the 
spring,  with  most  of  the  cereal  grains,  or  the  cultivated  grasses ; 
or  it  may  profitably  constitute  a  crop  by  itself  The  quantity  of 
seed  required  per  acre  depends  on  the  kind  of  soil.  On  well  pre- 
pared loams,  ten  or  twelve  pounds  of  good  seed  will  frequently 
give  a  full  covering  to  the  land,  while  on  clay  twelve  to  sixteen 
pounds  are  necessary  per  acre.  When  sown  with  the  grasses, 
four  to  six  pounds  on  the  first,  and  eight  to  twelve  pounds  on 
the  last  soil  will  suffice.  An  additional  amount  of  seed,  as  with 
the  grasses,  will  give  a  finer  quality  of  hay  in  consequence  of 
multiplying  the  number  of  stalks ;  and  for  this  purpose,  as  well  as 
to  insure  it  on  every  spot  of  the  field,  it  should  always  be  liberally 
sown.  The  covering,  like  that  of  grass  seeds,  should  be  of  the 
shghtest  kind ;  and  when  sowm  very  early  in  the  spring,  or  on 
well  pulverized  grounds,  and  followed  by  rains,  it  will  germinate 
freely  without  harrowing.  After  the  leaves  are  developed  in  the 
spring,  an  application  of  gypsum,  on  lands  which  are  amenable 
to  its  favorable  action,  should  be  made  by  sowing  broadcast,  at 
the  rate  of  one  to  three  or  four  bushels  per  acre.  The  effect  of 
this  on  clover  is  singularly  great,  and  it  seems  to  be  augmented 
by  applying  it  on  the 'leaves.    This  may  perhaps  be  accounted 


130 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


for  in  the  fact,  that  besides  its  other  uses,  gypsum  yields  a  con- 
siderable proportion  both  of  its  sulphuric  acid  and  lime  to  the 
plant,  and  thus  constitutes  a  direct  food.  The  influence  of  gyp- 
sum is  almost  incredible  in  developing  the  clovers  on  fields  where 
they  were  hardly  discernible  before.  This  may  be  witnessed  in 
almost  any  soil  where  gypsum  has  any  effect.  By  sowing  a 
quantity  over  the  grass  plat  containing  either  the  seeds  or  plants 
of  the  clover,  however  thin  or  meager  they  may  be,  an  imme- 
diate and  luxuriant  growth  distinguishes  the  spot  which  has 
received  it  from  all  the  surrounding  field.  Bones  are  invaluable 
manure  for  the  clovers.  The  table  of  the  ashes  shows  the  great 
quantity  of  lime  and  phosphoric  acid  (the  leading  elements  of 
bones,)  which  the  clovers  contain  in  comparison  with  the  rye 
grass,  which  is  a  type  of  the  other  grasses.  Thus  the  red  clover 
has  about  four  times  as  much  lime,  twenty-six  times  as  much 
phosphoric  acid,  more  soda  and  sulphuric  acid,  and  nearly  twice 
and  a  half  as  much  potash  as  the  grass.  The  white  clover  has 
about  four  times  the  potash ;  the  lucem  nearly  seven  times  the 
lime,  and  fifty -two  times  the  sulphuric  acid  contained  in  the  grass. 

Such  are  the  various  demands  of  plants  and  the  necessity  of 
providing  each  with  its  specific  food.  And  hence  the  advantage 
of  cultivating  a  variety  of  grasses  and  clover  on  the  same  spot. 
Each,  it  is  true,  draws  its  nutriment  from  the  same  elements,  but 
in  such  unlike  proportions  that  when  they  cease  to  yield  adequate 
support  to  one,  the  soil  may  still  be  rich  in  those  which  will  give 
luxuriant  growth  to  others.  Thus  two  or  more  ,  of  the  forage 
plants  when  growing  together  may  each  yield  a  large  crop,  swell- 
ing the  aggregate  product  far  beyond  what  would  be  realized  in 
the  separate  cultivation  of  either.  This  is  one  of  the  instances, 
and  it  is  sufficiently  satisfactory,  of  the  utility  of  good  husbandry 
in  the  cultivation  of  the  mixed  grasses  and  forage. 

Time  for  Cutting  and  Mode  of  Curing  C^oi^er.— Clover  should 
be  cut  after  having  fully  blossomed  and  assumed  a  brownish  hue. 
By  close  cutting,  more  forage  is  secured  and  the  clover  afterward 
springs  up  more  rapidly  and  evenly.    The  swath,  unless  very 


THE  GRASSES,  ETC.  ISl 

heavy,  ought  never  to  be  stirred  open,  but  allowed  to  wilt  on  the 
top.  It  may  then  be  carefully  turned  over,  and  when  thus  par- 
tially cured,  placed  in  high  slender  cocks  and  remain  till  suffi- 
ciently dry  to  remove  into  the  barn.  The  clover  may  be  housed 
in  a  much  greener  state  by  spreading  evenly  over  it  in  the  mow 
from  ten  to  twenty  quarts  of  salt  per  ton.  A  mixture  of  alternate 
layers  of  dry  grass  hay,  or  straw  with  the  clover,  by  absorbing 
its  juices,  answers  a  better  purpose,  while  it  materially  improves 
the  flavor  of  the  straw  for  fodder. 

After -management  of  Clover  fields. ^The  second  crop  of  clover 
may  be  either  saved  for  seed,  mown,  pastured,  or  turned  under 
for  manure.  As  this  is  usually  a  biennial  when  allowed  to  ripen, 
the  stocks  die  off  after  the  second  year,  unless  its  seeding  has 
been  prevented,  and  the  crop  is  only  partially  sustained  by  the 
seed  which  may  have  germinated  the  second  year  from  the  first 
sowing,  or  from  such  as  has  been  shed  upon  the  surface  from  the 
seed  matured  on  the  ground.  The  maximum  benefit  derivable 
to  the  soil  in  the  manure  of  the  stubble  and  roots,  is  attained  the 
second  year,  as  we  have  seen  that  the  dried  roots  of  the  clover 
at  that  time  are  in  the  proportion  of  fifty-six  for  every  one  hun- 
dred pounds  of  clover  hay  produced  from  them  in  two  years. 
But  the  ground  is  then  so  full  of  the  roots  as  to  check  further 
accumulation.  This  then  is  the  proper  time  for  plowing  up  the 
field  and  renewing  again  its  accustomed  round  of  crops.  If  de- 
sirable, the  clover  may  be  imperfectly  sustained  on  some  soils  for 
a  few  years  by  the  addition  of  gypsum,  bone  dust,  ashes  and  other 
manures,  which  will  develop  and  mature  the  ripened  seeds,  but 
the  greater  tenacity  of  other  plants  and  grasses  will  soon  reduce 
it  to  a  minor  product  in  the  field. 

The  above  remarks  apply  to  soils  generally  used  in  clover, 
when  intended  for  a  rotation  of  crops.  But  the  retention  of 
red  clover  in  upland  permanent  meadows  is  frequently  surprising. 
We  have  known  it,  either  with  or  without  occasional  top  dressings 
of  manure,  to  hold,  in  the  ground  with  wonderful  tenacity,  quite 
equal  to  the  timothy  and  other  grasses  with  which  the  land  is 


132 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


more  generally  clothed.  It  does  not  appear  in  every  year  alike. 
Some  years  little,  or  none  of  the  clover  will  be  seen ;  in  other 
years,  it  will  make  a  considerable  portion  of  the  crop.  It  has 
so  proved  in  our  own  upland  meadows.  "We  have  a  home  lot 
which  has  never  been  plowed.  It  has  for  fifty  years  past  been 
occasionally  top  dressed  with  barn  manures,  and  the  red  clover 
in  it  has  alternated  more  or  less  ever  since  we  have  known  it. 
The  lot  has  always  been  mown  for  hay,  and  fed  off  during  the 
autumn  afterwards. 

It  is  of  httle  use  to  expect  clover  as  a  permanent  crop  in  wet 
soils,  or  those  subject  to  heave  by  the  annual  winter  frosts.  The 
roots  are  long,  penetrating  deep  in  the  ground,  and  the  heaving 
of  the  frost  breaks  off  or  draws  out  the  roots,  which  destroys  the 
coming  crop.  "We  have  seen  a  fresh  clover  lay  so  drawn  out  by 
the  previous  winter  frost  as  to  be  raked  off  in  the  spring,  roots 
and  all,  utterly  worthless.  Yet,  when  only  partially  drawn  out, 
the  apphcation  of  a  heavy  roller  on  the  land  early  in  the  spring, 
may  so  pack  them  down  that  a  tolerable  crop  may  be  gathered. 
In  order  to  make  sure  crops  of  clover,  wet  lands  should  be  under 
drained.  So,  also,  should  those  Hable  to  be  heaved  by  the  winter 
frosts. 

Importance  of  the  Clovers. — The  great  value  of  the  different 
clovers  as  forage  was  well  known  to  the  ancients.  They  were 
largely  cultivated  by  the  early  Eomans,  and  since  that  period  they 
have  been  extended  throughout  a  large  part  of  Europe.  They 
were  not  introduced  into  Great  Britain  till  the  sixteenth  century, 
but  have  since  constituted  a  profitable  branch  of  husbandry. 
Their  importance  has  long  been  acknowledged  in  the  United 
States.  The  nutritive  matter,  although  relatively  less  than  from 
some  of  the  grasses,  is  yet  in  the  amount  per  acre,  fully  equal  to  the 
average  of  any  other  forage  crop  which  is  produced  at  the  same 
expense,  and,  when  properly  cured,  is  a  most  valuable  food  for 
milk  cows,  calves  and  sheep.  It  is  early  and  cheaply  raised,  it 
is  liable  to  few  or  no  casualties  or  insect  enemies  in  this  country, 
and  its  long  tap  roots  are  powerful  auxiliaries  in  the  division  and 


THE  GRASSES,  ETC. 


133 


improvement  of  soils.  Its  broad,  succulent  leaves  derive  a  large 
portion  of  tlieir  nutriment  from  the  atmosphere,  and  thus,  while 
it  affords  a  product  equal  to  the  best  grasses,  it  draws  a  large 
part  of  it  from  the  common  store  house  of  nature,  without  sub- 
jecting the  farmer  to  the  expense  of  providing  it  in  his  manures. 

It  is  as  a  fertilizer,  however,  that  it  is  so  decidedly  superior  to 
other  crops.  In  addition  to  the  advantages  before  enumerated, 
the  facility  and  economy  of  its  cultivation,  the  great  amount 
yielded,  and  lastly,  the  convenient  form  it  offers  for  covering  with 
the  plow,  contribute  to  place  it  far  above  any  other  vegetable. 
All  the  grains  and  roots  do  well  after  clover,  and  wheat, 
especially,  which  follows  it,  is  more  generally  free  from  disease 
than  when  sown  with  any  other  manure.  The  introduction  of 
clover  and  lime  in  connection,  has  carried  up  the  price  of  many 
extensive  tracts  of  land  from  $25  to  $100  per  acre,  and  has 
enabled  the  occupant  to  raise  large  crops  of  wheat  where  he 
could  get  only  small  crops  of  rye ;  and  it  has  frequently 
increased  his  crop  of  wheat  three-fold  where  he  had  before 
produced  it. 

It  is  a  common  observation  of  inteUigent  farmers,  that  they 
are  never  at  a  loss  to  renovate  such  lands  as  will  produce  even 
a  moderate  crop  of  clover.  Poor  clay  lands  not  capable  of  bear- 
ing it,  have  become  so  by  sowing  an  early  and  late  crop  of  oats 
in  the  same  season  and  feeding  them  off  on  the  ground.  Poor 
sandy  soils  may  be  made  to  sustain  clover  with  manure,  ashes 
and  gypsum,  combined  with  the  free  use  of  the  roller.  This 
object  is  much  facilitated  by  scattering  dry  straw  over  the  surface, 
which  affords  shade,  increases  the  deposit  of  dew  and  prolongs 
its  effects.  Whenever  the  period  of  clover-producing  is  attained, 
the  improvement  of  the  soil  may  be  pushed  with  a  rapidity  com- 
mensurate with  the  inclination  and  means  of 'the  owner.  To 
show  the  comparative  estimate  which  many  experienced  farmers 
place  on  red  clover  as  a  fertilizer,  some  years  ago  in  passing  the 
road  by  a  large  distillery  on  the  elevated  bank  of  a  creek  running 
into  the  Scioto  river,  in  Ohio,  we  saw  the  pens,  in  which  a  large 


134 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


number  of  swine  were  fed  from  the  "slops"  of  the  distilled  grain, 
so  placed  that  the  offal  from  them  was  thrown  out  and  passed 
down  the  declivity  immediately  into  a  stream  below,  to  flow  off 
and  enrich  the  drinking  water  of  the  good  people  inhabiting  the 
cities  along  the  great  rivers  of  Ohio  and  Mississippi.  The 
premises  were  owned  by  a  large  farmer,  whose  land  surrounded 
for  a  wide  distance  this  waste-enduring  process.  He  was  on  the 
ground  as  we  passed, — a  robust,  intelligent,  well-to-do  person 
age — and  we  asked  him  why  he  did  not  build  his  pens  so  that 
the  manure  could  be  removed  and  spread  on  the  land,  where  it 
would  be  so  valuable  to  him?  "Why,  sir,"  he  rephed,  "it  is  of 
no  sort  of  consequence.  /  really  cannot  afford  it  One  good 
crop  of  clover,  plowed  in,  is  worth  more  to  the  land  than  all  the 
hog  manure  I  can  haul  on  to  it."  It  may  be  so,  thought  we, 
but  if  the  farm  \vere  our  own,  the  manure  should  go  on  to  it, 
notwithstanding. 

Mr.  George  Geddes,  living  near  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  has  stated 
publicly  that  the  farmers,  including  himself,  in  his  vicinity,  whose 
farms  are  situated  on  the  "Onondaga  lime  group,"  and  "Mar- 
cellus  Shales,"  although  they  carefully  save  and  use  all  the 
manure  made  on  their  farms,  would  not  draw  barn  manure  a 
mile,  if  it  were  given  to  them.  They  prefer  clover,  plowed  in, 
although  they  raise  wheat  largely  as  well  as  other  cereals,  and 
their  land  has  been  constantly  worked  for  more  than  seventy 
years.  How  general  this  opinion  and  application  may  be,  we  do 
not  know ;  but  it  is  at  least  fortunate  that  in  many  localities  the 
practice  has  been  so  successful.  The  hint  may  be  possibly 
adapted  to  very  many,  as  yet,  untried  places. 

Harvesting  Clover  Seed  may  be  done  generally  after 
taking  off  one  crop,  or  pasturing  the  field  till  June,  or  at  such 
time  as  experience  shows  to  be  the  proper  one  for  leaving  it  to 
mature  a  full  crop  of  seed.  Early  mowing  removes  the  first 
weeds,  and  the  second  growth  of  the  clover  is  so  rapid  as  to 
smother  them  and  prevent  their  seeding,  and  the  clover  is  thus 
saved  comparatively  clean.   It  is  then  mown  and  raked  into  very 


THE  GRASSES,  ETC.  135 

small  cocks,  and  when  dried  at  the  top  they  are  turned  com- 
pletely over  without  breaking,  and  as  soon  as  thoroughly  dried 
they  may  be  carried  to  the  threshing  floor  and  the  seeds  beaten 
out  with  sticks,  light  flails,  or  much  better,  with  a  threshing 
machine.  An  instrument  with  closely  set  teeth  and  drawn  by  a 
horse,  is  sometimes  used  for  collecting  the  clover  heads  from  the 
standing  stalks  from  which  the  seed  is  afterwards  separated.  If 
wanted  for  use  on  the  farm,  these  heads  are  sometimes  sown 
without  threshing.  The  calyx  of  the  clovers  is  so  firmly  attached 
to  the  seed  as  to  be  removed  with  difSculty,  but  if  thrown  into 
a  heap  after  threshing,  and  gently  pressed  together,  a  shght  fer- 
mentation takes  place  and  the  seed  is  afterwards  readily  cleaned. 
A  fan  or  clover  machine  may  be  used  for  cleaning  the  seed  for 
market.  The  produce  is  from  three  to  six  bushels  per  acre, 
which  is  worth  to  the  farmer  from  $5  to  $8  per  bushel  of  sixty 
pounds. 

Southern  Clover,  (Trifolium  medium^)  is  a  smaller  species 
than  the  Trifolium  pratense^  and  matures  ten  or  fourteen  days 
earher,  and  the  soil  best  suited  to  it  is  nearly  similar.  It  does 
better  on  a  light  thin  soil  than  the  larger  northern,  and  should  be 
sown  thicker.  Strong  clay  or  rich  loamy  soils  will  produce  much 
heavier  crops  of  the  larger  kind.  Experience  alone  will  deter- 
mine which  of  these  kinds  should  be  adopted  under  all  the 
circumstances  of  soil,  fertihty,  etc. 

"White  CREEPma  Clover,  (Trifolium  repens.) — There  are 
several  varieties  of  white  clover,  all  of  which  are  hardy,  nutritious 
and  self-propagating.  Wherever  they  have  once  been,  the 
ground  becomes  filled  with  the  seed,  which  spring  up  whenever 
an  opportunity  is  afforded  them  for  growth.  They  are  pecuHarly 
partial  to  clay  lands  having  a  rich  vegetable  mold  on  the  surface, 
and  the  addition  of  gypsum  will  at  all  times  give  them  great 
luxuriance.  Their  dwarf  character  renders  them  less  fit  for  the 
scythe  than  the  red  clovers,  while  the  dense  matted  mass  of 
sweet  rich  food  ever  growing  and  ever  abundant,  makes  them 
most  valuable  for  pasture  herbage. 


• 


136  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 

The  Yellow  Clover,  Hop  Trefoil  or  Shamrock,  {Trifo 
Hum  procumhens,)  like  the  white,  is  of  spontaneous  growth,  very 
hardy  and  prohfic.  It  bears  a  yellow  flower  and  black  seeds.  It 
is  one  of  those  unostentatious  plants,  which  though  never  sown 
and  httle  heeded,  help  to  make  up  that  useful  variety  which  gives 
value  and  permanence  to  our  best  pasture  lands. 

Many  other  of  the  minute  Clovers  and  Leguminosje, 
THE  Wild  Pea,  etc.,  abound  in  our  untilled  lands,  and  add 
much  to  the  value  of  the  forage,  although  their  merits  and  even 
their  existence  are  scarcely  known. 

Crimson  or  Scarlet  Clover,  [Trtfolium  incarnatum^)  is  a 
native  of  Italy,  and  much  cultivated  in  France.  It  bears  a  long 
head  of  bright  scarlet  flowers,  and  in  Southern  Europe  is  a  profit- 
able crop.  Although  it  was  introduced  into  this  country  many 
years  since,  it  has  not  hitherto  commended  itself  to  particular 
attention  as  an  object  of  agriculture. 

LucERN,  [Medicago  sativa^)  is  one  of  the  most  productive 
plants  for  forage  ever  cultivated.  It  was  extensively  cultivated 
by  the  Greeks,  and  other  nations  of  antiquity,  for  many  centuries, 
and  it  has  been  a  prominent  object  of  attention  in  Italy,  Spain, 
France,  Holland  and  Flanders.  Its  relative  value,  as  compared 
with  clover,  {T,  pratense^)  is  decidedly  inferior,  while  its  absolute 
value  per  acre,  is  much  greater.  It  was  early  introduced  into  this 
country.  Chancellor  Livingston  published  his  experiments  with 
it  in  1791  to  1794,  by  which  he  estimates  that  he  cut  in  one 
season,  at  the  rate  of  six  and  one-fifth  tons  per  acre  in  five  cut- 
tings, yielding  a  profit  of  over  $35  an  acre.  It  bears  from  three  to 
five  crops  per  annum,  containing  from  three  to  eight  tons  of  hay. 
Those  who  have  cultivated  it  pronounce  it  hardy,  and  as  capable 
of  successful  growth  in  this  country  as  clover,  but  to  reach  the 
highest  product,  it  requires  a  richness  of  soil,  and  carefulness  of 
cultivation,  which  would  give  an  enormous  produce  to  its  more 
humble  rival.  Our  climate  in  the  Northern  and  Middle  States  is 
too  cold  for  it. 

Manner  of  Cultivation. — It  must  have  a  deep,  dry,  loamy  soil, 
Iree  from  weeds,  and  well  filled  with  manure.    A  suitable  crop 


THE  GRASSES,  ETC. 


137 


to  precede  it  is  corn  or  potatoes,  heavily  manured,  and  kept  clean. 
Plow  in  the  fall,  and  add  forty  bushels  crushed  bones  per  acre ; 
and  early  in  April,  harrow  thoroughly,  and  sow  in  drills  from  one 
to  two  and  a  half  feet  apart,  at  the  rate  of  eight  or  ten  pounds  of 
seed  per  acre.  Stir  the  ground  and  extirpate  the  weeds  with  the 
cultivator  or  horse  and  hand  hoe.  It  may  be  lightly  cropped  the 
first  year,  and  more  freely  the  second,  but  it  does  not  attain  full 
maturity  till  the  third.  The  roots  strike  deep  into  the  ground, 
and  being  a  perennial,  it  requires  no  renewal,  except  from  the  loss 
of  the  plants  by  casualties.  It  should  be  cut  before  getting  too 
heavy,  and  cured  like  clover.  Liquid  manure  is  good  for  it,  as 
are  also  gypsum  and  ashes.  Barn-yard  manure  is  occasionally 
necessary,  but  to  avoid  weeds,  it  must  be  thoroughly  fermented 
to  destroy  all  the  seeds.  It  is  sometimes  sown  broadcast,  but 
the  rapid  progress  of  weeds,  grass,  etc.,  in  the  soil  will  soon 
extirpate  it  if  they  are  suffered  to  grow ;  and  there  is  no  other 
means  of  effectually  eradicating  them  but  by  cultivating  the 
lucern  in  drills,  and  the  hoe  and  cultivator  can  then  keep  the 
weeds  in  subjection.  It  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  plants  for 
soiling.  From  the  care  and  attention  required,  the  cultivation 
of  lucern  is  properly  hmited  to  an  advanced  state  of  agriculture 
and  a  dense  population,  where  labor  is  cheap  and  products  high. 
In  the  neighborhood  of  large  cities  it  may  be  advantageously 
grown,  and  in  all  places  where  soiling  is  practiced. 

Sain-foin,  [Iledysarum  onohrychis,)  the  esparcette  of  the 
French,  is  a  native  of  the  chalk  soils  of  Europe,  and  is  adapted 
only  to  strong  calcareous  lands.  On  such  it  is  a  valuable  herb- 
age, as  the  roots  penetrate  to  a  great  depth  and  yield  large 
burdens  of  nutritious  fodder.  Though  often  attempted,  we  are 
not  aware  that  it  has  been  raised  to  any  extent  in  this  country. 
Our  winters  are  too  severe  for  it. 

Bokhara  or  Sweet  Scented  Clover,  (Melilotus  major,) 
is  a  tall,  shrub-like  plant,  growing  to  the  height  of  four  to  six 
feet,  with  branches,  whose  extremities  bear  numerous  small  white 
flowers  of  great  fragrance.    "When  full  grown  it  is  too  coarse  for 


138: 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


forage,  but  if  thick  and  cut  young  it  yields  a  profusion  of  green 
or  winter  fodder.  It  should  be  sown  in  the  spring  with  about 
two  pounds  of  seed  per  acre,  in  drills  sixteen  to  twenty  inches, 
apart;  it  must  be  kept  clear  of  weeds  and  cultivated  like  lucern. 
It  requires  a  rich,  mellow,  loamy  soil.  We  are  too  cold  for  it, 
also.  There  are  some  other  plants  which  might  probably  be 
introduced  into  American  husbandry  for  forage  with  decided 
advantage.    Among  these  is 

Spurry,  {Spergula  arvensis,)—lt  is  a  hardy  plant  which  grows 
spontaneously  in  the  Middle  States.  Its  chief  merit  consists  in 
its  growing  on  soils  too  thin  to  bear  clover.  On  such  it  can  be 
well  used  to  bring  them  up  to  the  clover  bearing  point,  from 
which  they  can  be  taken  and  carried  forward  much  more  rapidly 
by  the  clovers.  Yan  Yoght  says,  "it  is  better  than  red  or  white 
clover ;  the  cows  give  more  and  better  milk  when  fed  on  it,  and 
it  improves  the  land  in  an  extraordinary  degree.  If  the  land  is 
to  he  several  years  in  pasture,  white  clover  must  be  sown  with 
it.  When  sown  in  the  middle  of  April,  it  is  ripe  for  pasture  by 
the  end  of  May.  If  eaten  off  in  June,  the  land  is  turned  flat 
and  another  crop  is  sown,  which  affords  fine  pasture  in  August 
and  September.  This  operation  is  equivalent  to  a  dressing  of 
ten  loads  of  manure  per  acre.  The  blessing  of  spurry,  the  clover 
of  sandy  lands,  is  incredible  when  rightly  employed."  Three 
crops  can  be  grown  upon  land  in  one  season,  which  if  turned  in 
or  fed  on  the  ground,  can  be  made  a  means  of  rapid  improvement. 

PASTURES. 

It  is  too  often  the  case,  that  pastures  are  neglected,  and  hke 
woodlands,  are  allowed  to  run  to  such  vegetation  as  unassisted 
nature  may  dictate.  As  a  necessary  consequence,  their  forage  is 
frequently  meager  and  coarse,  and  incapable  either  in  quantity  or 
quality  of  supporting  half  the  number  of  cattle  in  poor  condition, 
that  might  otherwise  be  full  fed  from  them.  But  if  we  consider 
that  pastures  furnish  most  of  the  domestic  stock  with  their  only 
food  for  seven  months  of  the  year  at  the  North,  and  generally  for 


THE  GBASSES,  ETC. 


139 


ten  months  at  the  South,  and  many  locahties  the  year  round, 
they  may  well  be  deemed  worthy  the  particular  attention  of  the 
•  farmer. 

Pastures  ought  to  he  properly  divided;  and  it  is  perhaps  a  diffi- 
cult point  to  determine  between  the  advantage  of  small  ranges, 
and  the  expense  and  inconvenience  of  keeping  up  numerous 
divisions.  The  latter  requires  a  large  outlay  on  every  farm,  not 
only  for  the  first  cost  of  material  and  annual  repairs,  but  from  the 
loss  of  land  occupied  by  them;  and  they  are  further  objectionable 
from  their  harboring  weeds  and  vermin.  Yet  it  is  beneficial, 
sometimes,  to  give  animals  a  change  of  feed,  and  the  grass  comes 
up  evenly  and  grows  undisturbed,  if  the  cattle  be  removed  for  a 
while.  There  is  a  further  advantage  in  being  able  to  favor  some 
particular  individuals  or  classes  of  animals.  Thus,  fattening 
stock,  milk  cows,  and  working  animals,  ought  to  have  the  best 
feed;  then  young  stock;  while  sheep  will  thrive  on  shorter  feed 
than  either,  and  greedily  consume  most  plants  which  the  others 
reject.  By  this  means  a  field  will  be  thoroughly  cleansed  of  all 
plants  which  animals  will  eat,  and  the  remainder  should  be  extir- 
pated. The  same  care  should  be  taken  to  prevent  the  propagation 
of  weeds  in  pastures  as  in  other  fields.  Many  of  these,  mullen, 
thistle,  and  the  like,  multiply  prodigiously  from  sufferance,  and 
if  unchecked  will  soon  overspread  the  farm. 

Every  pasture  should,  if  possible,  be  provided  with  running 
water  and  shade  trees,  or  other  ample  protection  against  a  sum- 
mer's sun.  The  last  can  at  all  times  be  secured  by  a  few  boards 
supported  on  a  light,  temporary  frame.  Excessive  heat  exhausts 
and  sometimes  sickens  animals,  and  consequently  it  materially 
diminishes  the  effects  of  food  in  promoting  their  secretion  of  milk, 
the  growth  of  wool,  flesh,  etc.  Pastures  ought  to  be  protected 
against  poaching,  or  treading  up  in  the  spring  or  late  in  the 
autufnn.  All  grounds,  immediately  after  long  and  late  rains  in 
the  fall,  or  the  winter's  frosts,  are  Hable  to  this  when  exposed  to 
the  hoofs  of  cattle,  particularly  clay  lands  and  such  as  have  been 
recently  seeded.     On  late,  and  off  early,  is  a  good  rule  to  be 


140 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


adopted  for  spring  and  fall  pasturing.  Wherever  the  grasses 
disappear,  fresh  seeds  should  be  added  and  harrowed  in;  mosses 
should  be  destroyed;  they  should  be  properly  drained,  and  every, 
attention  paid  to  them  that  is  bestowed  on  the  mowing  lands, 
except  that  they  seldom  require  manures.  But  ashes,  gypsum, 
lime,  etc.,  may  frequently  be  applied  to  them  with  great  profit. 
Pastures  should  take  their  course  in  rotation  when  they  get  bare 
of  choice  herbage  or  full  of  weeds,  and  it  is  possible  to  break  them 
up  advantageously.  Though  many  choice,  natural  forage  plants 
may  thus  be  destroyed,  yet  if  again  turned  into  grass  at  the 
proper  period,  and  they  are  sown  with  a  plentiful  stock  of 
assorted  grass  seeds  on  a  rich  and  well  prepared  surface,  they 
will  soon  place  themselves  in  a  productive  state. 

In  natural  grass  lands,  which  have  a  good  natural,  or  even 
an  artificial  drainage,  pastures  should  very  rarely,  or  never  be 
broken  up.  The  older  they  are,  the  better,  as  a  rule.  They 
become  filled  with  a  large  variety  of  grasses,  all  nutritious  and 
valuable  in  their  seasons,  and  when  once,  broken  up,  it  will  take 
many  years,  even  if  well  re-seeded,  to  firmly  establish  them 
again.  There  are  pastures  in  the  old  grazing  and  dairy  districts 
of  England  that  have  not  been  plowed  for  centuries,  and  are  still 
better  than  new  ones.  In  many  portions  of  this  country,  such 
is  also  the  case. 

The  treatment  of  pastures  must,  of  necessity,  differ  largely  in 
various  parts  of  our  country,  depending  upon  th^  surface  of  the 
land,  the  passage  of  large  rivers  with  wide  interval,  or  bottom 
land,  the  kind  of  stock  to  which  they  are  devoted,  the  density 
or  sparseness  of  the  population  inhabiting  them,  and  the  circum- 
stances and  habits  of  the  people. 

We  are  not  partial  to  small  enclosures  of_  any  kind,  either  for 
cultivated  crops,  or  those  devoted  to  pasturage  alone.  Yet 
small  farms  must  have  smaller  fields  than  large  ones,  where  stock 
run  out  in  the  grazing  season.  Fencing  is  expensive;  therefore 
the  less  of  it  the  better.  Eoad  fences,  particularly  in  districts 
where  cattle  are  permitted  to  run  at  large  on  the  highways,  must 


THE  GRASSES,  ETC. 


141 


be  both  high,  and  strong ;  and  so  must  fences  in  the  divisions  of 
farm  fields  where  horses,  mules,  and  steers,  or  oxen  are  largely 
pastured.  It  is  still  a  divided  question  as  to  the  benefit  of  fre- 
quently changing  pastures  for  stock. 

As  we  increase  in  population,  and  land  becomes  more  valu- 
able, "soiling,"  as  in  Europe,  and  now  to  some  extent  in  Amer- 
ica, must  become  a  part  of  our  farm  system,  and  the  various 
economies  connected  with  it  a  subject  for  study  and  practice  with 
all  who  intend,  turning  their  acres  to  the  best  advantage. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

GEAIN  AND  ITS  CULTIYATIOI^^ 

WHEAT,  (tRITICUM.) 

This  is  one  of  the  most  important  and  most  generally  culti- 
vated of  the  cereal  grains,  (or  grasses  as  they  are  botanically 
termed,)  though  both  rice,  and  maize  or  Indian  corn,  contribute 
to  the  support  of  a  larger  population.  It  is  found  in  every  lati- 
tude excepting  those  which  approach  too  nearly  to  the  poles  or 
equator,  but  it  can  be  profitably  raised  only  within  such  as  are 
strictly  denominated  temperate.  Linnaeus  describes  only  six 
varieties,  but  later  botanists  enumerate  about  thirty,  while  of  the 
sub-varieties  there  are  several  hundred.  The  only  division  neces- 
sary for  our  present  purpose  is  of  the  winter  wheat,  (Triiicum 
hyhurnum^  and  spring  or  summer  wheat,  {Triticum  oestivum.^ 
The  former  requires  the  action  of  frost  to  bring  it  to  full  maturity 
and  is  sown  in  autumn.  Germination  before  exposure  to  the 
frost,  does  not,  however, -seem  absolutely  essential  to  its  success, 
as  fine  crops  have  been  raised  from  seed  after  having  been  satu- 
rated with  water  and  frozen  for  some  weeks,  and  sown  early  in 
spring.  It  has  also  been  successfully  raised  when  sowed  early  in 
the  season  and  while  the  frost  yet  occupied  the  ground,  Spring 
and  winter  wheat  may  be  changed  from  one  to  the  other  by  sow- 
ing at  the  proper  time  through  successive  seasons,  and  without 
material  injury  to  their  character.  The  winter  grain  is  by  far 
the  most  productive,  the  straw  is  stouter,  the  head  more  erect  and 
full,  the  grain  plumper  and  heavier,  and  the  price  it  bears  in 
market  from  ten  to  twenty-five  per  cent,  higher  than  that  of 


GRAIN  AND  ITS  CULTIVATION.  143 

spring  wheat.  This  difference  of  price  depends  father  <^n  the 
appearance  of  the  flour  and  its  greater  whitenesll  than  on  any 
intrinsic  deficiency  in  its  substantial  qualities.  Th^^analjsis  of 
Davy  gave  in  100  parts,  of 

'"^  Insoluble 
Gluten.   Starch,  matter. 

Spring -wheat  of  18(M,   24         70  6 

Best  Sicilian  winter  wheat,  21         74  5 

Good  English  winter  wheat  of  1803,  ....  19  77  4 
Blighted  wheat  of  1804,   13         53  34 

This  analysis  gives  the  greatest  nutritive  value  to  the  spring 
wheat,  as  the  gluten  constitutes  the  most  important  element  in 
flour,  resembhng  so  nearly  as  it  does  animaHzed  matter.  It  will 
also  be  noticed  that  the  Silician  yields  about  two  per  cent,  more 
gluten  than  the  English,  which  enables  the  flour  to  absorb  and 
retain  a  much  larger  proportion  of  water  when  made  into  bread. 
This  is  what  is  termed  by  the  bakers,  strength;  and  when  gluten 
is  present  in  large  proportions,  other  quahties  being  equal,  it  adds 
materially  to  the  value  of  flour.  American  wheat  also  contains 
more  gluten  than  Bnghsh,  and  that  from  the  Southern  States  still 
more  than  that  from  the  Northern.  An  eminent  baker  of  London 
says  American  flour  will  absorb  from  eight  to  fourteen  per  cent, 
more  of  its  own  weight  of  water  when  manufactured  into  bread 
or  biscuit  than  their  own ;  and  another  good  authority  asserts, 
that  while  fourteen  pounds  of  American  flour  will  make  twenty- 
one  and  a  half  pounds  of  bread,  the  same  quantity  of  Enghsh 
flour  will  make  only  eighteen  and  a  half  pounds.  As  a  general 
rule,  the  dryer  or  hotter  the  cHmate  in  which  the  grain  is  raised, 
the  greater  is  the  evaporation  and  the  more  condensed  is  the 
farina  of  the  grain,  and  consequently  the  more  moisture  it  is 
capable  of  absorbing  when  again  exposed  to  it.  Certain  varieties 
of  wheat  possess  this  quality  in  a  higher  degree  than  others. 
Some  manures  and  some  soils  also  give  a  difference  with  the 
same  seed,  but  for  ordinary  consumption,  the  market  value  (which 
is  the  great  consideration  with  the  farmer,)  is  highest  for  such 
wheat  as  gives  the  largest  quantity  of  bright  flour,  with  a  due 
proportion  of  gluten.    Other  prominent  differences  exist  among 


144  AMEEICAN  AGEICULTUEE. 

the  leading  cultivated  varieties  of  wheat,  such  as  the  bearded, 
and  bald  or  beardless,  the  white  and  red  chaflf,  those  having  large 
and  strong  stalks,  or  a  greater  or  a  less  tendency  to  tiUer,  or  to 
send  out  new  stems,  etc,  etc.  There  is  great  room  for  selection 
in  the  several  varieties,  to  adapt  them  to  the  different  soils,  situ- 
ations, and  chmate  for  which  they  are  designed. 

Pbepaeation  of  the  Land  for  Sowing.— Wheat  is  partial 
to  a  well  prepared  clay  or  heavy  loam,  and  this  is  improved 
when  it  contains  either  naturally  or  artificially  a  large  proportion 
of  hme.    Many  light,  and  all  marly  or  calcareous  soils,  if  in 
proper  condition,  will  give  a  good  yield  of  wheat.    Lime  is  an 
important  aid  to  the  fuU  and  certain  growth  of  wheat,  checkmg 
its  exhuberance  of  straw  and  its  liability  to  rust,  and  steadUy 
aidincr  to  fill  out  the  grain.    A  rich  mellow  turf  or  clover  lay  is 
a  good  bed  for  it;  or  land  which  has  been  well  manured  and 
cleanly  cultivated  with  roots  or  com  the  preceding  season.  Fresh 
barn-yard  manure  apphed  directly  to  the  wheat  crop,  is  objec- 
tionable, not  only  from  its  containing  many  foreign  seeds,  but 
from  its  tendency  to  excite  a  rapid  growth  of  weak  straw,  thus 
causing  the  grain  both  to  lodge  and  rust.    The  same  objection 
hes  against  sowing  it  on  rich  alluvial  or  vegetable  soils;  and  in 
each,  the  addition  of  lime  or  ashes,  or  both,  will  correct  these 
evils    A  dressing  of  charcoal  has  in  many  instances  been  found 
an  adequate  preventive ;  and  so  beneficial  has  it  proved  in  France 
that  it  has  been  extensively  introduced  there  for  the  wheat  crop. 
A  successful  example  of  uninterrupted  cropping  with  wheat 
through  several  years,  has  been  furnished  by  a  Maryland  farmer, 
who  used  fresh  barn-yard  manure  with  lime.    But  this  is  an  ex- 
ception, not  a  rule,  and  it  will  be  found  that  profitable  cultivation 
requires  that  wheat  should  take  its  place  in  a  proper  rotation. 
The  great  proportion  of  siUca  in  the  straw  of  cereal  grains, 
(amounting  in  wheat,  barley,  oats  and  rye,  to  about  four-fifths  of 
the  total  of  ash  from  the  grain  and  straw,)  shows  the  necessity 
of  having  ample  provision  made  for  it  in  the  soil  in  a  form  sus- 
ceptible of  ready  assimilation  by  the  plant.    This  is  afforded 
both  by  ashes,  and  from  the  action  of  lime  upon  the  soil. 


GRAIN  AND  ITS  CULTIVATION. 


145 


Depth  of  soil  is  also  indispensable  to  large  crops.  The  wheat 
plant  has  two  sets  of  roots:  the  first  springing  from  the  seed  and 
penetrating  downwards,  while  the  second  push  themselves  later- 
ally near  the  surface  of  the  ground  from  the  first  joint.  They 
are  thus  enabled  to  extract  their  food  from  every  part  of  the  soil, 
a,nd  the  product  will  be  found  to  be  in  the  ratio  of  its  extent  and 
fertility.  Under  draining  and  subsoil  plowing  contribute  greatly 
to  the  increase  of  crops,  and  it  is  essential  that  any  surface  water 
be  entirely  removed.  Wheat  on  heavy  clay  lands  is  pecuHarly 
liable  to  winter  kill  unless  they  are  well  drained.  This  is  owing, 
to  successive  freezing  and  thawing,  by  which  the  roots  are  broken 
or  thrown  out.  When  this  is  done  to  a  degree  that  will  materi 
ally  diminish  the  crop,  the  naked  spots  may  be  sown  with  spring 
wheat.  Any  considerable  portion  of  the  latter  will  lessen  the 
value  for  sale,  but  it  is  equally  good  for  domestic  use.  The  land 
should  be  duly  prepared  for  the  reception  of  the  seed  by  early 
and  thorough  plowing,  clod  crushing,  rolling  and  harrowing,  if 
necessary. 

Selection  and  Preparation  of  Seed. — Many  persons 
select  their  seed  by  casting  or  throwing  the  grain  to  some  distance 
on  the  floor,  using  only  such  as  reaches  the  farthest.  This  is  a 
summary  way  of  selecting  the  heaviest,  plumpest  grain,  which, 
if  Sprengel's  theory  be  correct,  is  attended  with  no  advantage 
beyond  that  of  separating  it  from  the  lighter  seed  of  chess  or  weeds. 
It  is  certain  that  the  utmost  care  should  be  taken  in  removing 
everything  from  it  but  pure  wheat,  and  this  should  be  exclu 
sively  of  the  kind  required.  When  wheat  is  not  thoroughly- 
cleaned  by  casting,  a  sieve  or  riddle  should  be  used,  or  it  should 
even  be  picked  over  by  hand,  rather  than  sow  anything  but  the 
pure  seed.  Previous  to  sowing,  a  strong  brine  should  be  made 
of  salt  and  soft  water,  and  in  this  the  grain  should  be  washed  for 
five  minutes,  taking  care  to  skim  off  all  light  and  foreign  seeds. 
If  the  grain  be  smutty,  this  washing  should  be  repeated  in 
another  clean  brine,  when  it  may  be  taken  out  and  intimately 
mixed  with  one-twelfth  its  bulk  of  fresh  pulverized  quickhme. 
7 


146 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


This  kills  all  smut,  cleans  out  weeds  from  the  grain,  and  ensures 
early,  rapid  growth.  When  the  seed  is  not  smutty,  it  may  be 
prepared  by  soaking  or  sprinkling  it  with  stale  urine  and  after- 
wards mix  with  the  lime ;  and  if  well  done  this  also  will  prevent 
smut,  though  the  first  is  most  certain.  (See  ''varieties  of  seed  " 
following,  for  further  directions.) 

Quantity  of  Seed  and  time  of  Sowing. — On  well  pulver 
ized,  ordinary  wheat  soils,  about  five  pecks  of  seed  is  sown  to 
the  acre,  while  rough  land,  clay  soils,  and  such  as  are  very  fertile, 
require  from  six  to  eight.     In  Maryland,  but  three  pecks  are 
frequently  sown  to  the  acre,  and  some  of  the  best  crops  have 
been  raised  from  only  two  pecks  of  seed  on  a  finely  pulverized 
soil.     It  takes  more  seed  when  full  and  plump  than  when 
shrunken,  as  there  may  be  nearly  two  of  the  latter  to  one  of  the 
former  in  the  same  measure.     A  difference  is  to  be  observed 
according  to  the  kind  of  wheat,  some  needing  more  than  others. 
A  larger  quantity  of  seed  produces  an  earlier  growth  of  hghter 
straw  and  head,  but  does  not  usually  increase  the  aggregate  crop. 
There  is  always  a  tendency  in  wheat  and  most  of  the  cereal 
grasses,  to  tiller  or  send  out  new  shoots  for  fiiture  stalks.  This 
is  a  law  of  these  plants,  which  compels  them  to  make  the  greatest 
effort  to  cover  ,  the  whole  ground,  and  sometimes  a  single  seed 
will  throw  out  more  than  a  hundred  stalks.    In  early  sowing, 
the  wheat  tillers  in  the  autumn;  in  late  sowing,  this  is  done  in 
part  only  till  the  ensuing  spring.    Thick  sowing  is  a  substitute 
for  tillering  to  the  extent  that  would  otherwise  be  induced,  and 
is  equivalent  to  earher  sowing  of  a  smaller  quantity.    The  time 
for  sowing  in  our  Northern  States  is  from  the  tenth  to  twentieth 
of  September.    If  sown  earlier,  it  is  hable  to  attack  from  the 
Hessian  fly,  and  if  later,  it  does  not  have  time  to  root  as  well, 
and  is  in  more  danger  of  being  thrown  out  by  the  frost  or  of 
winter  killing.    Late  sowing  is  also  more  subject  to  rust  the  fol- 
lowing season  from  its  later  ripening. 

Sowing. — When  the  ground  has  been  well  mellowed,  the  seed 
may  be  sown  either  broadcast  or  in  drills— but  drilling  is  much 


GRAIN  AND  ITS  CULTIVATION. 


147 


the  better  way,  by  distributing  the  seed  more  evenly,  as  well  as 
by  a  considerable  saving  in  the  quantity  of  seed — and  thoroughly 
harrowed  in.  Rolling  is  a  good  practice,  as  it  presses  the  earth 
closely  upon  the  seed  and  facilitates  germination,  and  as  soon  as 
the  seed  is  covered,  the  water  furrows  should  be  cleaned  out,  and 
again  late  in  autumn  and  early  in  the  following  spring.  In 
Northern  Europe  it  has  been  found  a  preventive  against  winter 
killing  on  strong  clays,  to  sow  the  wheat  in  the  bottom  of  each 
furrow,  six  inches  deep,  and  cover  it  with  the  succeeding  one. 
The  wheat  thus  planted,  comes  up  as  soon  as  on  the  fields  sown 
broadcast  and  harrowed,  grows  more  vigorously,  withstands  the 
winters  and  produces  large  crops.  Lightly  plowing  in  wheat  is, 
perhaps,  under  any  circumstances,  better  than  harrowing,  as  the 
wheat  is  thereby  all  buried,  and  at  a  more  suitable  depth  than 
can  be  done  by  the  harrow.  The  best  drills  now  in  use  cover 
the  seeds  sufficiently  for  protection.  The  roughness  of  the  fur- 
rows, when  left  without  harrowing,  is  advantageous  in  heavy  or 
clay  lands,  and  only  injurious  in  light  or  sandy. 

After  Culture. — Harrowing  in  the  spring  by  loosening  the 
soil,  adds  to  the  growth  of  the  crop,  and  the  loss  of  the  few 
plants  is  much  more  than  compensated  by  the  rapid  tillering  and 
vigor  of  those  which  remain.  Sowing'  in  drills  and  hoeing 
between  them  is  much  practiced  in  Europe.  The  additional 
amount  thus  frequently  raised  would  seem  to  justify  the  adoption 
of  this  mode  of  cultivation  in  this  country ;  and  it  should  at  least 
be  done  so  far  as  to  give  it  a  fair  trial.  On  hght  soils,  rolling 
the  wheat  both  in  Ml  and  spring  is  highly  advantageous.  "When 
the  growth  is  luxuriant,  decided  benefit  has  attended  feeding  off 
the  wheat  on  the  field  in  the  fall  or  spring,  taking  care  to  permit 
the  animals  to  go  on  only  when  the  ground  is  firm.  This,  how- 
ever, should  be  cautiously  done,  and  then  only  by  light  animals, 
as  calves,  or  sheep. 

Enemies  of  Wheat. — These  are  numerous.    It  is  subject  to 
the  attack  of  the  Hessian  fly  if  sown  too  early  in  the  fall,  and . 
again  the  ensuing  spring,  there  being  two  annual  swarms  of  the 


148 


AMERICAN  'agriculture. 


%,  early  in  May  and  September.  "When  thus  invaded,  harrow- 
ing or  rolHng,  by  which  the  maggots  or  flies  are  displaced  or 
driven  off  is  the  only  remedy  of  much  avail.  Occasionally  other 
flies,  and  sometimes  the  wheat  worm,  or  "midge,"  commit  great 
depredations.  There  is  no  effectual  remedy  known  against  any 
of  these  marauders,  beyond  rolhng,  brushing,  and  harrowing. 
Dusting  the  grain  with  hme,  ashes,  and  soot,  have  been  fre- 
quently tried,  as  have  also  the  sprinkhng  them  with  urine,  diluted 
acids,  etc. ;  and  also  by  fumigating  them  in  the  evening  when  the 
smoke  creeps  along  through  the  standing  grain.  For  this  last 
purpose  a  smoldering  heap  of  damp  brush,  weeds,  or  chips,  is 
placed  on  the  windward  side  of  the  field,  and  its  efficacy  may  be 
increased  by  the  addition  of  brimstone.  Whenever  obnoxious 
to  these  attacks,  the  only  safety  is  to  place  the  crop  in  the  best 
condition  to  withstand  them,  by  hastening  its  growth,  and  by  the 
propagation  of  the  most  hardy  varieties.  An  apphcation  of 
unleached  ashes  in  damp  weather  will  sometimes  diminish  the 
ravages  of  worms  at  the  root.  Quicklime  has  the  same  effect 
on  all  insects  with  which  it  comes  in  contact,  but  it  should  be 
carefully  apphed  to  avoid  injury  to  the  plants. 

These  insect  enemies  come  and  go,  in  occasional,  as  well  as  in 
consecutive  yearSj  remaining  shorter,  or  longer,  as  circumstances 
may  happen.  They  are,  no  doubt,  migratory  over  the  land.  In 
some  parts  of  the  country  the  Hessian  fly,  by  its  permanence  of 
occupation,  has  actually  driven  wheat-growing  out,  altogether, 
when  it  would  depart  for  a  long  term  of  years,  and  the  grain 
again  be  grown.  So,  also,  with  that  pestilent  Httle  wretch, 
.the  "midge,"  which,  of  late  years,  now  we  trust  happily  passed 
by,  has  been  so  destructive  to  the  winter  wheat  of  our  Northern 
States.  During  these  years — some  six  or  eight  in  succession — the 
farmers  were  driven  to  the  growth  of  spring  wheat,  which  is  never, 
or  but  seldom  attacked  by  the  midge.  About  the  year  1862,  the 
midge  waned  in  its  ravages  in  Western  New  York,  and  has  since 
nearly,  or  quite  left  us.  In  that  year  we  had  upwards  of  one 
hundred  acres  of  wheat  on  the  ground,  the  most  of  it  of  spring 


GRAIN  AND  ITS  CULTIVATION. 


149 


varieties.  It  had  a  good  growth,  and  promised  well ;  but  when 
headed  out,  and  in  bloom,  a  Httle  brown  insect,  about  half  the 
size  and  nearly  the  color  of  the  common  apple-tree,  or  bark  louse, 
appeared  upon  the  heads,  efiectually  covering  them  so  that  the 
fields  fairly  looked  brown — ^hundreds  of  them,  almost,  on  a  single 
head — ^but  no  signs  of  midge,  We  all  supposed  the  crop  was 
doomed ;  but  on  examination,  the  louse  only  worked  on  the  out- 
side husk  of  the  kernel,  and  when  harvest  time  came,  it  gradually 
disappeared.  It  scared  us  terribly,  but  did  but  Httle,  if  any  actual 
harm.  We  had  a  good  crop  of  sound,  perfect  grain.  We  never 
saw  the  insect  on  our  grain  before,  nor  have  we  seen  it  since. 
Yet  the  creature  infested  the  country  for  a  wide  distance  around 
us  the  same  year.  If  any  skeptic  ever  doubted  the  lice  of  Egypt, 
and  the  Omnipotent  power  which  so  developed  and  multiphed 
them  in  the  days  of  the  Israehtish  bondage,  a  witness  of  the 
sudden  production  of  these  myriads  upon  our  grain  fields,  would 
cure  his  infidelity  at  once. 

Smut  is  a  dark  brown  or  blackish  parasitic  fungus,  which  grows 
upon  the  head  and  destroys  the  grain.  The  only  remedy  for  this, 
is  washing  in  two  or  three  successive  strong  brines,  and  intimately 
mixing  and  coating  the  seed  with  quicklime. 

Rust  affects  the  straw  of  wheat  while  the  grain  is  forming,  and 
before  it  is  fully  matured.  It  is  almost  always  present  in  the  field, 
but  is  not  extensively  injurious,  except  in  muggy  (close,  showery 
and  hot)  weather.  The  straw  then  bursts  from  the  exuberance 
of  the  sap,  which  is  seen  to  exude,  and  a  crust  of  iron-colored 
rust  is  formed  in  longitudinal  ridges  on  the  stalk.  It  is  generally 
conceded  that  this  rust  is  a  fungus  or  minute  parasitic  plant, 
which  subsists  on  the  sap ;  but  whether  it  be  the  cause  or  conse- 
quence of  this  exudation  is  not  fully  determined.  There  is  no 
remedy  for  this  when  it  appears,  and  the  only  mitigation  of  its 
effects,  is  to  cut  and  harvest  the  grain  at  once.  The  straw  in  this 
case  will  be  saved,  and  frequently  a  tolerable  crop  of  grain  which 
partially  matures  after  cutting;  while  if  suffered  to  stand,  both 
straw  and  grain  will  be  almost  totally  lost.    The  only  prevent- 


150 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


ives  experience  has  hitherto  found,  are  the  selection  of  hardy 
varieties  of  grain  which  partially  resist  the  effects  of  rust ;  sowing 
on  elevated  lands  where  the  air  has  a  free  circulation;  the  abund- 
ant use  of  sahne  manures,  salt,  lime,  gypsum,  and  charcoal;  the 
absence  of  recent  animal  manures;  and  early  sowing  which 
matures  the  plant  before  the  disease  commences  its  attack. 

Harvesting. — The  grain  should  be  cut  immediately  after  the 
lower  part  of  the  stalk  becomes  yellow,  while  the  grain  is  yet  in 
the  dough  state,  and  is  easily  compressible  between  the  thumb 
and  finger.  Kepeated  experiments  have  demonstrated  that  wheat 
cut  then,  will  yield  more  in  measure,  of  heavier  weight,  and  a 
larger  quantity  of  sweet,  white  flour.  If  early  cut,  a  longer  time 
is  required  for  curing  before  threshing  or  storing. 

Except  in  small  fields,  the  cereal  grain  harvests  are  now  usually 
cut  by  the  horse  reapers,  unless  when  its  lodging^  from  overgrowth 
or  storms,  which  is  not  often  the  case,  requires  the  use  of  the 
cradle  or  scythe.  As  good  reapers  are  so  widely  distributed, 
we  only  suggest  to  the  farmer  to  be  sure  and  obtain  a  good 
article,  and  when  secured,  make  proper  use,  and  take  good  care 
of  it,  always  housing  it  when  not  at  work. 

Threshing  is  usually  done  among  extensive  farmers,  with 
some  one  of  the  large  horse  machines  taken  into  the  field.  The 
use  of  machines  enables  the  farmer  to  raise  some  of  the  choicest 
kinds  of  grain,  whose  propagation  was  limited  before  their  intro- 
duction, by  the  great  difficulty  of  separating  the  grain  from  the 
head.  He  can  also  push  his  wheat  into  the  market  at  once  if  the 
price  is  high,  which  is  frequently  the  case  immediately  after  har- 
vest ;  and  they  save  all  expense  and  trouble  of  moving,  storing, 
loss  from  shelling,  and  vermin,  interest,  insurance,  etc.  For  the 
moderate  farmer,  a  small,  single  or  double  horse  machine,  or  hand 
threshing  in  winter,  where  there  is  leisure  for  it,  is  more  economi- 
cal than  the  six  or  eight  horse  thresher. 

The  use  of  the  threshing  machine,  when  not  properly  manned 
and  attended  to,  is  followed  with  great  loss  of  grain  and  enormous 
waste  of  straw,  particularly  in  employing  itinerant  threshers,  who 


GRAIN  AND  ITS  CULTIVATION. 


151 


go  about  the  country  to  do  the  work.  The  machine  should  be  a 
good  one,  perfect  in  all  its  parts,  do  its  work  well,  and  not  Hable 
to  get  out  of  order.  Plenty  of  room  should  be  given  to  feed  it, 
to  measure  and  bag,  or  carry  away  the  grain,  and  dispose  of  the 
straw,  which  should  be  well  and  securely  stacked  at  the  time. 
No  farmer  can  afford  to  throw  away  his  straw,  or  leave  it  to 
be  trodden  down  by  cattle  running  over  it  in  the  field,  or  blown 
about  and  wasted  by  storms.  In  the  winter  season,  if  bright  and 
clean,  it  is  valuable  as  coarse  fodder  for  young,  or  store  stock,  and 
as  bedding  for  any  stock  in  stables,  or  sheds,  where  it  may  be 
conveniently  worked  into  manure.  No  matter  how  rich  the  land, 
manure  on  some  part  of  it  will  be  wanted.  Steam  threshers  are 
now  considerably  used  in  England,  and  have  lately  been  tried 
in  America.  The  sooner  they  become  thoroughly  introduced, 
the  less  waste  and  trouble  in  securing  our  grain  will  be  found. 

MowiNO  OR  Stacking. — When  stored  in  the  straw,  the  grain 
should  be  so  placed  as  to  prevent  heating  or  molding.  This  can 
only  be  avoided,  unless  very  dry  before  carrying  into  the  barn, 
by  laying  it  on  scaffolds  where  there  is  a  free  circulation  of  air 
around  and  partially  through  it.  If  placed  in  a  stack,  it  should 
be  well  elevated  from  the  ground ;  and  if  the  stacks  are  large,  a 
chimney  of  lattice  or  open  work  should  be  left  from  the  bottom, 
running  through  the  center  to  the  top ;  or  a  large  bundle  may  be 
kept  at  the  surface  in  the  center,  and  drawn  upwards  as  the  stack 
rises,  thus  leaving  an  opening  from  the  bottom  to  the  roof.  Addi- 
tional security  would  be  afforded  by  similar  openings  horizontally, 
at  suitable  intervals,  so  as  to  admit  the  air  from  one  side  to  the 
other.  Mice  and  rats  may  be  avoided  by  laying  the  foundation 
of  the  stack  on  posts  or  stones,  elevated  beyond  their  reach,  and 
covered  at  the  top  with  projecting  caps.  Weevils  sometimes 
affect  the  grain  after  storing.  These  may  be  almost,  if  not  wholly 
prevented,  by  thorough  cleanliness  of  the  premises  where  the 
grain  is  stored.  It  is  much  better,  however,  where  barns  are 
provided,  or  barracks  made,  to  at  once  put  it  under  shelter,  and 
thresh  it  out  at  leisure  when  the  hurry  of  the  harvest  is  over. 


152 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


The  straw  and  chaff  of  wheat  should  never  be  wasted.  This 
is  the  most  nutritious  of  the  cereal  straws,  and  yields  good  fodder 
to  cattle  in  time  of  scarcity,  and  is  always  valuable  for  this  object 
when  cut  and  mixed  with  meal  or  roots;  and  particularly  when 
early  harvested  and  well  cured.  Turnips  and  straw  are  the  only 
food  of  half  the  cattle  and  most  of  the  sheep  throughout  Great 
Britain,  and  nowhere  do  they  thrive  more,  or  better  remunerate 
their  owners,  than  in  that  country.  It  is  of  great  use  also  as 
bedding  for  cattle,  and  as  an  absorbent  of  animal  and  liquid 
manures.  It  furnishes  in  itself  the  best  manure  for  succeeding 
grain  crops;  containing  large  proportions  of  the  salts  or  ash 
required.  When  threshed  on  the  field,  and  not  wanted  for  cattle, 
it  should  be  scattered  over  the  ground,  and  either  plowed  in  or 
suffered  to  decay  on  the  surface. 

Varieties  of  Seed. — Much  depends  on  the  proper  selection 
of  seed.  Some  soils  are  peculiarly  adapted  to  wheat  growing, 
and  on  these  should  be  sown  the  finest  varieties,  which  are  gen- 
erally of  a  more  delicate  character.  Wheat,  on  other  soils,  is 
liable  to  many  casualties,  and  on  such,  only  the  hardier  kinds 
should  be  propagated.  Careful  and  repeated  experiments  with 
different  varieties  of  seeds,  on  each  field,  or  on  those  which  are 
similar,  will  alone  determine  their  adaptation  to  the  soil.  There 
are  several  choice  varieties  of  winter  wheat  in  cultivation  in  the 
United  States,  some  of  which  stand  higher  in  one,  and  some  in 
another  section.  Some  in  high  repute  abroad,  have  been  intro- 
duced into  this  country  and  proved  to  be  valuable  acquisitions, 
while  others  have  been  found  on  trial,  decidedly  inferior  to  many 
of  the  long  adopted  varieties.  Experiment  alone  will  enable  the 
farmer  to  decide  as  to  their  value  for  his  own  grounds,  however 
high  they  may  stand  elsewhere.  When  of  a  fine  quality,  and 
found  to  produce  well  on  any  given  soils,  their  place  should  not 
be  usurped  by  others  till  repeated  trials  have  shown  their  superi- 
ority, either  in  yield  or  quality.  But  when  the  acclimated  grain 
is  inferior,  other  seed  from  remote  distances,  even  if  no  better  in 
quality,  may  properly  be  substituted  for  it,  as  a  decided  benefit 
has  been  found  to  follow  an  exchange. 


GBAIN  AND  ITS  CULTIVATION. 


153 


Wheat,  and  nearly  all  seeds,  are  found  to  be  more  productive 
wlien  taken  from  a  soil  inferior  to  the  one  intended  for  sowing; 
and  it  is  claimed  that  what  is  produced  both  in  a  warmer  and 
colder  climate  will  mature  earher.  It  is  not  essential  that  the 
fullest,  heaviest  grain  be  sown.  Sprengel  affirms  that  seed  some- 
what shrunken  is  more  certain  to  give  a  good  yield  than  the 
choicest  seed;  and  numerous  trials  would  seem  to  favor  this  con- 
clusion. The  grain  designed  for  seed  should  be  well  ripened 
before  harvesting.  From  the  ever  varying  character  of  the  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  seed,  their  superiority  at  one  time  and  on  one 
locahty,  and  their  inferiority  at  other  times  and  in  other  situa- 
tions, it  seems  almost  superfluous  to  give  a  particular  enumeration 
of  the  present  most  popular  kinds.  A  brief  mention  of  such 
only  as  stand  high  in  public  favor  in  this  country,  with  some 
of  their  most  striking  peculiarities,  is  all  that  our  limits  will 
admit. 

The  improved  Flint  is  extensively  cultivated  in  the  fine  wheat 
growing  country  of  Western  New  York,  where  it  was  introduced 
in  1822.  It  is  hardy,  and  withstands  the  winters  remarkably 
well.  A  striking  improvement  in  the  strength  of  its  straw  has 
been  observed,  which  at  first  inclined  to  lodge,  but  it  is  now  erect 
and  firm  till  fully  ripened.  The  heads  are  also  fuller  and  longer 
than  when  first  introduced ;  the  berry  is  plump  and  white,  yield- 
ing a  large  proportion  of  choice  flour;  and  it  is  retained  in  the 
head  with  great  tenacity,  which  is  a  decided  advantage  for 
economy  in  harvesting,  where  threshing  machines  are  substituted 
for  the  flail. 

The  old  Genesee  Red-chaff  is  a  bald,  white  wheat,  first  culti- 
vated in  the  same  region  in  1798,  and  for  a  long  time  it  was  the 
decided  favorite.  Since  1820,  however,  it  has  been  very  subject 
to  rust  and  blast,  but  when  circumstances  are  favorable  it  is  still 
found  to  be  highly  productive.  Its  transfer  to  other  localities, 
may  therefore  be  attended  with  great  success. 

The  White  May  of  Virginia  was  a  choice  variety  and  exten- 
sively raised  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Chesapeake  bay  in 
7^ 


154 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


1800,  but  is  now  nearly  extinct  there.  It  has  been  cultivated 
in  New  York  many  years,  is  a  good  bearer,  and  very  heavy; 
weighing  frequently  sixty-six  pounds  per  bushel,  and  ripens  early, 
by  which  it  escapes  rust. 

The  Wheatland  red  is  a  new  variety,  discovered  and  propa- 
gated by  General  Harmon,  of  Monroe  county,  N.  Y.  It  is  held 
in  high  estimation,  as  it  produces  well  and  ripens  early. 

The  Kentucky  white  bearded,  Hutchinson  or  Canadian  flint, 
is  very  popular  in  Western  New  York,  where  it  has  been  rapidly 
disseminated  since  its  first  introduction  some  twelve  years  since. 
It  is  hardy,  a  good  yielder,  with  a  short,  plump  berry,  weighing 
sixty-four  pounds  per  bushel.  It  requires  thicker  sowing  (about 
25  per  cent,  more  seed)  than  the  improved  flint,  as  it  does  not 
tiller  as  well,  and  unlike  that,  it  sliells  easily,  wasting  much  unless 
cut  quite  early. 

The  English  Velvet-heard,  or  Crate  Wheat,  has  a  coarse  straw, 
large  heads,  a  good  berry  of  a  reddish  hue,  and  is  well  adapted 
to  the  rich  alluvial  bottom  lands,  where  its  firm  straw  prevents 
its  lodging.  It  is  a  fair  yielder  and  tolerably  hardy,  but  its  long 
beard  is  a  great  objection  to  its  introduction  on  such  lands  as  are 
suited  to  the  finer  kinds. 

The  Yorkshire  or  English  Flint,  or  Soules  Wheat,  has  been 
some  time  introduced,  and  is  similar  in  its  leading  features  to  the 
old  Genesee. 

The  white  Provence  is  a  new  and  favorite  variety,  but  its  slen- 
der stalk  frequently  subjects  it  to  lodging.  It  is  only  suited  to 
the  finest  calcareous  wheat  soils. 

The  Blue-stem  has  been  raised  with  great  success  in  Union, 
Fa.,  where  it  resisted  smut  and  rust  when  all  other  kinds  in  the 
vicinity  were  affected  by  it.    It  is  grown  in  Western  New  York. 

The  Mediterranean  is  a  coarse  wheat  with  a  thick  skin,  yield- 
ing a  dark  flour.  It  resists  rust  and  the  fly,  is  a  good  bearer,  and 
may  be  profitably  grown  where  other  choice  kinds  fail. 

The  Egyptian,  Smyrna,  Reed,  Many-spiked,  or  Wild  Goose 
Wheat,  is  also  a  hardy  variety,  with  a  thick,  heavy  straw,  which 
prevents  its  lodging. 


GRAIN  AND  ITS  CULTIVATION. 


155 


New  varieties,  as  the  Diehl,  midge-proof,  amber,  and  other 
new  sorts  have  since  been  introduced,  and  will  almost  every  year 
be  brought  among  us,  all  which  may  be  tested  and  remain,  or  be 
discarded,  as  their  merits  may  determine. 

Production  of  new  varieties  of  "Wheat. — Besides  intro- 
ducing valuable  kinds  from  abroad,  and  the  improvement  by 
careful  cultivation  of  such  as  we  now  have,  new  varieties  may 
be  secured  by  hybridizing  or  crossing.  This  is  done  by  impreg- 
nating the  female  organs  of  the  flowers  on  one  plant,  by  the 
pollen  from  the  male  organ  of  another.  The  progeny  sometimes 
materially  differs  from  both  parents,  and  occasionally  partakes  of 
the  leading  qualities  of  each.  Among  those  thus  produced,  some 
may  be  found  of  peculiar  excellence  and  worthy  of  supplanting 
others  whose  value  is  declining.  The  effect  of  this  crossing  is 
striking  in  the  ear  of  maize,  where  the  red  and  white,  the  blue 
and  yellow  kernels  are  seen  to  blend  in  singular  confusion  over 
the  whole  ear,  each  differing,  too,  in  size,  shape,  and  general 
qualities.  Observation  will  sometimes  detect  a  new  variety  of 
wheat  in  the  field,  self  hybridized,  the  result  of  an  accidental 
cross.  If  this  has  superior  merit,  it  should  be  carefully  secured 
and  planted  in  a  bed  by  itself  for  future  seed. 

Propagation  may  be  extended  with  incredible  rapidity  by 
dividing  the  plant.  The  EngHsh  Philosophical  Transactions  give 
the  result  of  a  trial  made  by  planting  a  single  grain  on  the  second 
of  June ;  on  the  eighth  of  August  it  was  taken  up  and  separated 
into  eighteen  parts  and  each  planted  by  itself.  These  were  sub- 
divided and  planted  between  the  fifteenth  of  September  and  the 
fifteenth  of  October,  and  again  the  following  spring.  From  this 
careful  attention  in  a  fertile  soil,  five  hundred  plants  were  ob- 
tained, some  containing  one  hundred  stalks,  bearing  heads  of  a 
large  size;  and  the  total  produce  within  the  year  was  386,840 
grains  from  the  single  one  planted. 

Spring  Wheat. — This  requires  a  soil  similar  to  that  of  win- 
ter grain,  but  it  should  be  of  a  quick  and  kindly  character,  as  it 
has  a  much  shorter  time  to  mature.    The  ground  should  be  well 


156  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 

pulverized  and  fertile.  The  best  crops  are  raised  on  land  that 
has  been  plowed  in  the  fall,  and  sown  without  additional  plowing, 
taking  care  to  harrow  in  thoroughly.  When  planted  early  the 
wheat  rarely  suffers  from  the  fly,  as  it  attains  a  size  and  vigor 
bevond  the  reach  of  injury  before  it  appears.  In  certain  locali- 
ties where  the  fly  abounds  and  the  wheat  has  not  been  early 
sown,  it  is  found  necessary  to  keep  back  the  young  plants  tiU  the 
disappearance  of  the  fly.  Large  crops  have  been  obtained  under 
favorable  circumstances,  when  sown  as  late  as  the  twentieth  of 
May. 

Varieties.— The  Black  Sea  Wheat  is  one  of  the  most  popu- 
lar kinds  at  present  cultivated.  Of  this,  there  are  two  varieties,  the 
red  and  the  white  chaff,  both  of  which  are  bearded.  The  former 
is  generally  preferred.  This  wheat  has  yielded  very  profitable 
crops.  The  Siberian  is  a  valuable  wheat,  and  has  been  much 
raised  in  this  country.  It  produces  a  full,  fine  grain,  is  hardy 
and  a  good  bearer.  The  Italian  has  been  much  cultivated,  and 
held  in  high  estimation,  but  it  is  now  generally  giving  place  to 
the  preceding  where  each  has  been  tried.  There  are  some  varie- 
ties of  cluh  wheat  successfully  grown  in  the  Western  States  and 
Canada,  which  may  be  sub-varieties  of  some  of  the  kinds  already 
mentioned. 

There  are  still  other  varieties  which  bear  well  and  are  toler- 
ably hardy.  Excellent  spring  grain  has  been  produced  by  early 
sovving  from  choice  winter  wheat,  which  has  retained  most  of  the 
characteristics  of  the  original  under  its  new  summer  culture.  In 
large  sections  of  this  country,  wheat  has  been  seriously  injured 
by  winter  killing  and  other  casualties,  and  wherever  these  prevail 
and  the  soil  is  suited  to  it,  summer  wheat  may  be  advantageously 
introduced.  A  proper  attention  to  the  selection  of  seed  and  the 
preparation  of  the  soil,  will  generally  insure  a  profitable  return. 
If  its  market  value  is  not  as  high,  it  may  at  least  afford  all  that 
the  farmer  and  his  laborers  require;  and  he  will  generally  find, 
if  not  in  a  wheat  growing  region,  that  he  can  dispose  of  his  sur- 
plus  crop  among  his  neighbors  before  the  next  harvest  comes 
round,  and  at  satisfactory  prices. 


GRAIN  AND  ITS  CULTIVATION. 


15Y 


RYE,  (sec  ALE  SERE  ALE,) 

Is  extensively  cultivated  in  the  North-eastern  and  Middle 
Atlantic  States.  It  is  grown  on  the  hght  lands  of  Ohio,  Michi- 
gan, and  other  Western  States,  and  as  the  supporting  elements 
of  wheat  become  exhausted  in  the  soil  of  the  rich  agricultural 
States  of  the  West,  it  will  take  its  place  in  a  great  measure  on 
their  hghter  soils.  Most  of  the  Eastern  and  Atlantic  States 
when  first  subjected  to  cultivation,  produced  wheat ;  but  where 
lime  did  not  exist  in  the  soil  the  wheat  crop  soon  failed,  and  it 
has  gradually  receded  from  the  Atlantic  border,  except  in  marly 
or  calcareous  soils,  or  those  that  were  reclaimed  by  a  plentiful 
addition  of  lime,  rye  almost  universally  succeeding  it.  But  the 
liberal  use  of  lime,  with  the  agricultural  improvements  of  the 
present  day,  are  regaining  for  wheat  much  of  its  ancient  territory. 

Rye  resembles  wheat  in  its  bread-making  properties,  and  for 
this  purpose  is  only  second  to  it  in  those  countries  where  it  is 
cultivated.  There  is  a  peculiar  aroma  attached  to  the  husk  of 
the  grain,  which  is  not  found  in  the  finely  bolted  flour.  The 
grain  wlien  ground  and  unbolted  is  much  used  in  the  New  Eng- 
land States  for  mixing  into  loaves  with  scalded  Indian  meal ;  it  is 
then  baked  for  a  long  time,  and  is  known  as  rye  and  Indian  or 
hrown  hread.  This  possesses  a  sweetness  and  flavor  peculiar  to 
itself,  which  is  doubtless  owing  in  no  small  degree  to  the  quality 
above  mentioned.  Von  Thaer  says,  "this  substance  appears  to 
facilitate  digestion,  and  has  a  singularly  strengthening,  refreshing 
and  beneficial  efiect  on  the  animal  frame."  Rye  is  more  hardy 
than  wheat,  and  is  a  substitute  for  it  on  those  soils  which  will  not 
grow  the  latter  grain  v^ith  certainty  and  profit. 

Soil  and  Cultivation. — Neither  strong  clay  or  calcareous 
lands  are  well  suited  to  it.  A  rich  sandy  loam  is  the  natural  soil 
for  rye,  though  it  grovrs  fi-eely  on  light  sands  and  gravels  which 
refuse  to  produce  either  wheat,  barley  or  oats.  Loamy  soils  that 
are  too  rich  for  wheat,  and  on  which  it  almost  invariably  lodges, 
will  frequently  raise  an  excellent  crop  of  rye,  its  stronger  stem 
enabling  it  to 'sustain  itself  under  its  luxuriant  growtli. 


]58  AMERICAN  AGHICULTURE. 

The  Peepaeation  of  the  Soil  fob  Rye  is  similar  to  tliat 
for  wheat;  and  it  may  be  advantageously  sown  upon  a  rich  old 
turf  or  clover  lay,  or  after  corn  or  roots  where  the  land  has  been 
weU  manured  and  thoroughly  cleansed  from  weeds.  There  is  not 
an  equal  necessity  for  using  a  brine-steep  for  rye  as  for  wheat, 
yet  if  allowed  to  remain  a  few  hours  in  a  weak  solution  of  salt- 
petre or  som-e  of  the  other  salts,  it  promotes  speedy  germination 
and  subsequent  growth. 

Sowing.— There  is  but  one  species  of  rye,  but  to  this  cultiva- 
tion has  given  two  varieties,  the  spring  and  winter.    Like  wheat, 
they  are  easily  transformed  into  each  other  by  sowing  the  winter 
continually  later  through  successive  generations  to  change  it  into 
spring  grain,  and  the  opposite  for  its  re-conversion  into  winter 
grain!    The  last  should  be  sown  from  the  twentieth  of  August 
to  the  twentieth  of  September,  the  earhest  requiring  less  seed, 
as  it  has  a  longer  time  to  tiller  and  fill  up  the  ground.  Five 
pecks  is  the  usual  quantity  sown,  but  it  varies  from  one  to  two 
bushels,  according  to  the  quality  of  the  soil,  the  richest  lands  de- 
manding most.    It  is  a  practice  among  many  farmers  to  sow  rye 
among  their  standing  corn  on  light  lands,  hoeing  or  cultivating  it 
in  and  leaving  the  ground  as  level  as  possible.    On  such  lands, 
this  is  attended  with  several  advantages,  as  it  gives  the  grain  an 
early  start,  and  a  moist,  sheltered  position,  at  a  time  when  drought 
and  a  hot  sun  would  check  or  prevent  vegetation.    As  soon  as 
the  corn  is  sufadently  matured,  it  should  be  cut  up  by  the  roots 
and  plafed  in  compact  shocks,  or  removed  to  one  side  of  the  field, 
when  the  rye  should  be  thoroughly  rolled.    When  sown  on  a 
fresh  plowed  field,  it  should  be  harrowed  in  before  rolling. 

Great  success  has  attended  the  turning  in  of  green  crops  and 
following  the  fresh  plowing  with  instant  sowing  of  the  seed. 
This  brings  it  forward  at  once.  No  after  cultivation  is  needed 
except  harrowing  in  spring  and  again  roUing  if  the  land  is  light, 
both  of  which  are  beneficial,  for,  though  some  of  the  stools  may 
be  thus  destroyed,  the  working  of  the  ground  assists  the  remain- 
ing plants  so  as  to  leave  a  great  advantage  in  favor  of  the  practice. 


GRAIN  AND  ITS  CULTIVATION. 


159 


A  friend  of  the  writer  had  occasion  to  plow  some  land  in  the 
spring,  which  joined  a  field  of  rye  belonging  to  a  neighbor.  The 
owner  claimed  damages  for  supposed  injury  by  the  team  and 
plow,  which  it  was  agreed  should  be  assessed  on  examination 
after  harvesting,  when  it  appeared  that  the  damaged  part  was 
the  best  of  the  whole  field.  An  honest  Enghsh  yeoman  received 
several  pounds  from  a  liberal  squire,  for  alleged  injury  to  his 
young  grain  from  the  trampling  of  horses  and  hounds  in  hot 
chase  after  a  fox ;  but  at  harvest  he  found  the  crop  so  much  ben- 
efited by  the  operation  that  he  voluntarily  returned  the  money. 
If  the  rye  is  luxuriant,  it  may  be  fed  both  in  the  fall  and  spring. 
Early  cutting,  as  in  wheat,  produces  more  weight,  larger  measure, 
and  whiter  flour.  What  is  intended  for  seed  must,  however,  be 
allowed  to  ripen  fully  on  the  ground. 

Diseases. — -Rye  is  subject  to  fewer  casualties  than  wheat. 
Ergot,  or  cockspur,  frequently  affects  it.  This  fungus  is  discov- 
ered not  only  on  rye,  but  on  other  plants  of  the  order  graminse. 
Several  of  these  elongated,  curved  and  brownish  spurs  appear  on 
a  single  head,  and  they  are  most  frequent  in  hot,  wet  seasons. 
They  are  poisonous  both  to  man  and  beast,  and  when  eaten  freely 
they  have  generated  fatal  epidemics  in  the  community ;  and  ema- 
ciation, debility  and,  in  some  cases,  death  to  animals  consuming 
it."^  The  sloughing  of  the  hoofs  and  horns  of  cattle  has  been 
attributed  to  ergot  in  their  grass  and  grain.  Rust,  like  that 
which  affects  the  wheat  crop,  and  owing  probably  to  the  same 
causes,  attacks  rye.  When  this  happens  it  should  be  cut  and 
harvested  without  delay. 

Rye  for  Soiling  is  sometimes  sown  by  those  who  wish  late 
forage  in  autumn  and  early  in  spring.  For  this  purpose  it  should 
be  sown  at  the  rate  of  two  to  four  bushels  per  acre.  If  on  a 
fertile  soil  and  not  too  closely  pastured,  it  will  bear  a  good  crop 

*  This  may  be  doubted,  although  generally  believed.  We  once  knew  a  miller  who 
tended  a  country  grist  mill— a  big,  stout  fellow— who  didn't  believe  much  in  the 
story,  and,  as  a  test  of  his  want  of  faith,  in  its  poisonous  qualities,  we  saw  him  take 
up  mouthfuls  of  the  ergot  or  cocJcspur  grain,  and  eat  and  swallow  it,  without  any 
effect  on  him  whatever. 


IgO  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 

of  grain;  and,  in  some  cases  when  too  rank,  early  feeding  will 
strengthen  the  stalk  and  increase  the  grain. 

BARLEY,  (hORDEUM,) 

Is  a  grain  of  extensive  cultivation  and  great  value.  Like 
wheat  and  rye,  it  is  both  a  winter  and  spring  grain,  though  in 
this  country  it  is  almost  universally  sown  in  the  spring.  There 
are  six  varieties,  differing  in  no  essential  points  and  all  originating 
from  the  same  source.    Loudon  says,  in  choosing  for  seed,  "the 
best  is  that  which  is  free  from  blackness  at  the  tail,  and  is  of  a 
pale  hvely  yellow,  intermixed  with  a  bright  whitish  cast ;  and  if 
the  rind  be  a  little  shrivelled  so  much  the  better,  as  it  indicates 
thin  skin.    The  husk  of  thick-rinded  barley  is  too  stiff  to  shrink, 
and  will  lie  smooth  and  hollow  even  when  the  flour  is  shrunk 
within.    The  necessity  of  a  change  of  seed,  from  time  to  time, 
for  that  grown  in  a  different  soil,  is  in  no  instance  more  evident 
than  in  this  grain,  which  otherwise  becomes  coarser  every  suc- 
cessive year.    But  in  this,  as  in  all  other  grain,  the  utmost  care 
should  be  taken  that  the  seed  is  full  bodied."    Counter  to  this, 
we  never  raised  a  better  crop  of  barley  than  from  seed  so 
shrunken  by  drought  that  we  could  not  sell  it  to  the  maltsters  for 
any  price. 

The  principal  varieties  are  the  two  and  six  rowed;  the  last 
being  preferred  for  hardiness  and  productiveness  in  Europe,  and 
the  first  generally  cultivated  in  this  country  for  the  superior 
fullness,  and  freedom  from  smut.  There  are  numerous  sub-varie- 
ties, such  as  the  Hudson  Bay,  which  ripens  very  early  and  bears 
abundantly;  the  Chevaher,  and  Providence,  both  accidental,  of 
which  a  single  stalk  was  first  discovered  among  others  of  the 
ordinary  kinds,  and  proving  superior  and  of  luxuriant  growth, 
they  were  widely  propagated ;  the  Peruvian,  Egyptian,  etc.  New 
varieties  may  be  produced  by  crossing,  as  with  wheat. 

Soil —Barley  requires  a  lighter  soil  than  will  grow  good  wheat, 
and  a  heavier  than  will  grow  tolerable  rye;  but  in  all  cases  it 
must  be  one  that  is  well  drained.    A  mellow,  rich  loam,  ranging 


GRAIN  AND  ITS  CULTIVATION. 


161 


between  light  sand  or  gravel,  and  heavy,  clay,  is  best  suited  to  it. 
It  should  be  sowed  early. 

Cultivation. — It  may  be  sown  as  soon  as  the  ground  is  suf- 
ficiently dry  in  spring,  on  a  grass  or  clover  lay,  turned  over  the 
preceding  fall ;  or  it  may  follow  a  well  manured  and  cleanly  hoed 
crop.  If  sown  on  a  sod  it  should  be  lightly  plowed  in,  but  not 
so  deep  as  to  disturb  it,  and  afterwards  harrowed  or  rolled.  The 
soil  should  always  be  well  pulverized.  From  two  to  three  bushels 
per  acre  is  the  usual  allowance  of  seed,  poor  and  mellow  soils, 
and  early  sown,  requiring  the  least.  Barley  should  never  follow 
the  other  white  grains,  nor  should  they  succeed  each  other,  unless 
upon  very  rich  soil.  No  farmer  can  long  depart  from  this  rule 
without  -  serious  detriment  to  his  soil  and  crops.  Barn-yard 
manures  should  not  be  appHed  directly  to  this  grain,  unless  it  be 
a  light  dressing  of  compost  on  indifferent  soils;  or  in  moderate 
quantity  after  the  plants  have  commenced  growing  in  the  spring. 
When  the  plants  are  four  or  five  inches  high,  rolling  will  be  of 
service,  if  the  ground  is  dry  and  not  compact.  This  operation 
gives  support  to  the  roots,  destroys  insects,  multiphes  seed  stalks 
and  increases  their  vigor. 

Destroying  weeds  in  grain. — When  grain  is  infested  with  cockle, 
wild  mustard  or  other  weeds,  they  should  be  extirpated  by  hand 
before  they  are  fairly  in  blossom.  If  neglected  till  sometime  after 
this,  the  seed  is  so  well  matured  as  to  ripen  after  pulling,  and  if 
then  thrown  upon  the  ground  they  will  defeat  the  effort  for  their 
removal.  When  too  luxuriant,  barley,  like  rye,  may  be  fed  off 
for  a  few  days,  but  not  too  closely.  This,  however,  is  seldom 
necessary. 

The  HARVESTiNa  of  barley  should  be  seasonably  done,  or  its 
extreme  liabihty  to  shell  will  cause  much  waste,  and  on  the  con- 
trary, it  will  shrivel  if  cut  before  fully  matured.  It  may  be 
stacked  like  wheat.  Early  cut,  it  is  -much  brighter  than  when 
left  to  full  ripeness,  when  it  has  a  dull,  brownish  color.  We  have 
seen  the  maltster  make  ten  to  twenty  cents  difference  in  the  price 
of  the  same  description  of  grain,  solely  from  the  time  of  cutting. 


162 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


The  uses  of  Barley  are  various  and  important.  In  Europe 
it  forms  no  inconsiderable  part  of  the  food  of  the  inhabitants. 
The  grain  yields  from  eighty  to  eighty-six  per  cent,  of  flour,  which 
however  contains  but  six  per  cent,  of  gluten;  seven  per  cent, 
being  saccharine  matter,  and  seventy-nine  mucilage  or  starch.  It 
is  inferior  in  nutriment  to  wheat  aJid  rye,  but  superior  to  oats. 
In  this  country  it  is  principally  used  for  malting  and  brewing, 
and  in  some  cases  for  distilling,  but  when  ground  is  more  gen- 
erally appropriated  to  fattening  swine,  though  sometimes  used 
for  other  stock. 

THE  OAT,  (aVENA  SATIVA,) 

Is  cultivated  throughout  a  wide  range  of  latitude,  and  on  a 
greater  variety  of  soil  than  any  other  grain.  It  will  grow  on 
rich  or  poor,  and  on  dry,  or  moist  soils ;  on  the  heaviest  clays 
and  the  hghtest  sands ;  and  it  will  pay  as  well  on  rich  lands  as 
any  other  crop.  The  average  yield  on  good  soils  is  from  thirty 
to  forty  bushels  per  acre,  and  on  the  richest,  when  well  cultivated, 
it  has  exceeded  seventy  bushels.  It  is  exposed  to  fewer  injuries 
than  other  grain,  being  seldom  affected  by  rust,  smut  or  insects. 
The  wire-worm  is  most  destructive  to  it,  especially  when  sown 
on  fresh  sod.  The  most  effectual  mode  of  extirpating  these  and 
other  troublesome  insects,  is  to  turn  the  sod  over,  late  in  the  fall, 
just  before  our  severe  winter  frosts.  They  thus  become  chilled, 
and  incapable  of  seeking  a  safe  retreat  from  their  fatal  effects. 
If  not  plowed  at  that  time,  it  should  be  done  immediately  before 
sowing  in  spring,  when  by  turning  them  into  the  bottom  of  the 
furrow,  they  cannot  find  their  way  to  the  surface,  in  sufficient 
numbers,  to  prey  upon  the  plant  before  it  gets  beyond  the  reach 
of  their  attacks. 

Varieties. — Of  these,  Loudon  mentions  nine  as  being  well 
defined  and  entirely  distinct,  besides  which  there  are  many  local 
or  recent  sub-varieties.  He  says:  The  White  or  common  oat, 
is  in  most  general  cultivation  in  England  and  Scotland,  and  is 
known  by  its  white  husk  and  kernel.     The  Black  oat,  known  by 


* 

GRAIN  AND  ITS  CULTIVATION. 


163 


its  black  husk,  and  cultivated  on  poor  soils  in  the  North  of  Eng- 
land and  Scotland.  The  Red  oatj  known  by  its  brownish  red 
husk,  thinner  and  more  flexible  stem,  and  firmly  attached  grains. 
It  is  early,  suffers  little  from  winds,  meals  well,  and  suits  windy 
situations  and  a  late  cHmate.  The  Poland  oat^  known  by  its 
thick  white  husk,  awnless  chaff,  solitary  grains,  short  white  kernel, 
and  short  stiff  straw.  It  requires  a  dry,  warm  soil,  but  is  very 
prolific.  The  Black  Poland  oat  is  one  of  the  best  varieties;  it 
sometimes  weighs  fifty  pounds  to  the  bushel.  The  Friezland  or 
Dutch  oaty  has  plump,  thin  skinned,  white  grains,  mostly  double, 
and  the  large  ones  sometimes  awned.  It  has  longer  straw  than 
the  Poland,  but  in  other  respects  resembles  it.  The  Potato  oat 
has  large,  plump,  rather  thick  skinned,  white  grains,  double  and 
treble,  with  longer  straw  than  either  of  the  two  last.  It  is  now 
almost  the  only  kind  raised  in  the  North  of  England  and  the 
South  of  Scotland,  and  brings  a  higher  price  in  the  London 
market  than  any  other  variety.  They  have  all  been  derived 
from  the  produce  of  a  single  stalk  which  was  first  discovered 
growing  in  a  field  of  potatoes  in  England,  in  1788.  The  Georgian 
oaty  is  a  large  grained,  remarkably  profitable  variety,  and  on  rich 
soil,  in  good  tilth,  has  produced  more  than  any  other  variety.  The 
Siberian^  Tartarian^  or  Horse-mane,  is  by  some  conceded  a  dis- 
tinct species.  The  grains  are  black  or  brown,  thin  and  small, 
and  turned  mostly  to  one  side  of  the  panicle,  and  the  straw  is 
coarse  and  reedy.  It  is  little  cultivated  in  England,  but  is  found 
very  suitable  for  poor  soils  and  exposed  situations.  The  Winter 
oat  is  sown  at  the  rate  of  two  bushels  per  acre  in  October,  the 
plants  are  luxuriant  and  tiller  well,  and  afford  good  winter  and 
spring  pasture  for  ewes  and  lambs,  and  when  these  are  shut  out, 
it  affords  an  ample  crop  of  grain  in  August." 

The  Hopetown  oat  originated  frord  a  single  stalk  that  was  first 
discovered  in  1824,  by  Mr.  Sherriff,  in  a  field  of  potato  oats.  It 
is  distinguished  by  its  exceeding  height,  aud  superior  produce . 
when  sown  on  rich  soils.    The  Dyoch  oat  is  a  recent  sub-variety 
of  the  potato  oat,  and  it  is  claimed  for  it  that  it  exceeds  the'  last 


L64 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURS. 


in  the  number  of  bushels  yielded  per  acre,  and  also  in  the  weight 
of  the  grain  and  the  quantity  of  meal.  The  Skinless  oats,  much 
commended  in  Ireland,  have  been  tried  in  this  country  without 
much  success.  They  have  shown  a  tendency  to  degenerate,  the 
necessary  effect  of  previous  highly  artificial  cultivation.  There 
are  many  other  varieties  which  have  a  partial  or  local  popularity, 
and  from  the  readiness  with  which  new  kinds  are  produced,  care- 
ful attention  and  observation  on  the  part  of  the  farmer,  will  detect 
from  time  to  time  such  as  may  have  a  decided  value  over  others 
for  particular  localities.  A  superior  kind  was  discovered  in  a 
field  of  common  oats  in  Oneida  county,  N.  Y.,  some  years  since, 
and  from  the  produce  of  one  stool  it  became  widely  disseminated 
and  has  uniformly  proved  both  hardy  and  prolific.  The  variety 
most  cultivated  in  the  United  States,  is  the  common  white,  which 
is  hardy  and  a  good  bearer,  weighing  from  thirty-two  to  thirty- 
five  pounds  per  bushel.  The  black  oat  is  preferred  in  "Western 
New  York  and  some  other  sections  of  the  country.  Eepeated 
trials  have  been  made  with  the  potato  oat,  a  heavy  grain,  weigh- 
ing from  thirty-five  to  forty-five  pounds  per  bushel,  but  its  merits 
have  not  proved  conspicuous  enough  to  have  given  it  tlie  place 
of  the  old  and  long  tried  varieties  in  the  United  States. 

Various  of  the  heavy  oats,  precedingly  described,  have  been 
tried  in  this  country,  but  our  dryer,  hot  summers,  do  not  agree 
with  them.  They  gradually  run  out  into  our  common  lighter 
oats,  and  constantly  require  fresh  imported  seed  to  produce  them. 

Cultivation. — ^In  this  country  oats  are  sown  at  the  rate  of 
two  to  four  bushels  per  acre  during  all  the  spring  months,  and 
sometimes,  though  rarely,  in  June.  The  earliest  sown  are  usually 
the  heaviest  and  most  productive.  They  may  occupy  a  turf,  or 
follow  any  of  the  well  manured,  hoed  crops,  as  mentioned  in  the 
preceding  grain.  No  apparent  advantage  has  been  derived  from 
steeps  for  the  prevention  of  smut,  as  in  wheat:  the  impervious 
husk  of  the  oat  apparently  arresting  the  liquid  and  preventing 
its  penetration  to  the  kernel.  Sowing  salt  broadcast  over  the 
land  at  the  rate  of  two  to  six  bushels  per  acre,  has  been  found 


GRAIN  AND  ITS  CULTIVATION. 


165 


of  use  to  the  crop,  both  in  furnishing  it  with  a  necessary  manure 
and  bj  kilhng  insects.  The  seed  should  be  well  harrowed  in 
and  rolled,  and  no  after  attention  is  required  except  to  destroy 
the  prominent  weeds. 

Haryesting. — Oats  frequently  ripen  unevenly,  and  if  there  is 
a  large  proportion  of  sucli  as  are  backward,  the  proper  time  for 
cutting  will  be  as  soon  as  the  grain  in  the  latest  may  be  rubbed 
out  of  the  straw  by  hand.  The  oat  is  sufficiently  matured  for 
harvesting  after  it  has  passed  the  milk  state,  and  is  easily  com- 
pressed between  the  thumb  and  finger.  The  lower  part  of  the 
stalk  will  then  have  assumed  a  yellow  color,  and  it  ceases  to  draw 
nutriment  from  the  soil.  If  cut  at  this  time,  the  straw  is  better 
for  fodder  and  for  other  uses ;  the  grain  is  fuller ;  the  husk  hghter ; 
and  the  loss  from  sheUing,  which  is  frequently  a  great  item  when 
left  too  late,  is  avoided.  Oats,  when  very  tall,  used  to  be  cut 
with  the  sickle,  and  when  lodged,  with  the  scythe;  but  when 
erect  and  of  medium  height,  with  the  cradle,  which,  until  the 
introduction  of  the  reaper  with  us,  was  by  far  the  most  speedy 
and  economical,  and  this  leaves  them  in  a  suitable  position  for 
binding  into  sheaves.  They  may  be  stacked  hke  wheat,  but  are 
far  better  housed  in  the  barn. 

The  uses  of  oats  are  various,  and  differ  materially  in  different 
countries.  In  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  many  other  countries,  oat 
meal  is  much  used  as  human  food,  and  for  this  the  potato  oat,  or 
some  one  of  the  heavy  kinds  is  preferred,  as  they  afford  a  larger 
proportion  of  meal  and  less  of  husk.  Scotland,  "the  land  o' 
cakes,"  draws  no  inconsiderable  part  of  the  consumption  of  her 
•laboring  population  from  this  meal,  which  is  formed  into  small, 
thin  cakes,  and  eaten  with  milk,  butter,  etc.,  or  it  is  mixed  with 
water  or  milk,  and  made  into  puddings,  and  other  wholesome 
preparations,  quite  palatable  to  those  accustomed  to  it. 

A  celebrated  German  chemist,  A.  Miiller,  gives  the  follow- 
ing analysis:  starch  55.4;  gum  and  sugar,  2.5;  gluten,  etc., 
8.8;  fat,  6.4;  bran,  9.6;  water,   14.6;  ash  2.7;   and  33  of 


166 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


liusk  in  100  parts.  They  are  but  little  used  for  human  food  in 
this  country,  and  this  is  principally  by  emigrants  who  bring  their 
early  habits  with  them.  They  are  prepared  by  kiln-drying  and 
hulling,  then  grinding  and  bolting,  when  required  to  separate  the 
flour.  The  meal  is  scalded  before  using,  and  mixed  with  about 
half  its  weight  of  wheat  flour  when  made  into  bread.  It  is  sold 
by  the  apothecaries  to  invalids,  for  whom  it  is  valuable  on  account 
of  its  light,  digestible  character.  It  is  also  stirred  into  water, 
making  an  excellent  beverage  for  laborers  in  hot  weather.  The 
principal  use  of  oats,  however,  in  the  United  States,  is  as  food 
for  working  animals,  for  which  it  is  unrivaled.  Oats  are  some- 
times used  when  ground,  for  fattening  cattle,  sheep  and  swine, 
but  for  this  purpose  they  are  far  surpassed  by  corn,  barley,  peas, 
or  boiled  potatoes.  They  are  an  excellent  fodder  for  stock  sheep, 
and  for  them  are  most  economically  fed  in  the  straw,  if  cut  early. 

INDIAN  CORN,  (ZEA  MAIZE.) 

This,  next  to  the  grasses,  is  by  far  the  most  important  crop  of 
the  United  States.  The  effect  of  the  immense  production  of  a 
staple  article  is  felt  in  every  department  of  our  agl"iculture,  and 
is  conclusively  shown  by  the  great  value  of  our  beef,  pork,  mut- 
ton, human  food,  whisky  and  highwines,  to  all  of  which  corn  is 
made  largely  to  contribute.  Nearly  all  the  beef  and  pork  of  the 
vast  and  fertile  West,  and  much  in  the  North  and  South  is  fed 
upon  it.  Corn  seems  to  have  been  created  for  this  Western 
hemisphere.  It  is  raised  in  boundless  luxuriance  from  the  frozen 
regions  of  Canada,  almost  to  the  Straits  of  Magellan.  It  riots 
in  the  fierce  blaze  of  our  cloudless  Western  sun,  and  it  is  here  • 
that  it  attains  the  highest  perfection.  Its  most  prolific  area  on 
this  continent  hes  between  40°  north  and  38°  south  latitude, 
deducting  a  limited  portion  of  the  equatorial  regions.  Close 
attention  in  its  cultivation  is  necessary  when  receding  from  these 
limits  towards  the  poles,  on  account  of  a  deficiency  of  sun  for 
ripening  it.  In  such  localities,  the  smaller  and  earher  kinds 
should  be  planted  on  a  warm  soil,  so  as  to  mature  before  the 
first  frosts. 


GRAIN  AND  ITS  CULTIVATION. 


167 


Varieties. — There  is  no  one  of  the  cereal  grains  or  grasses 

which  manifests  itself  under  such  multiplied  forms  as  maize. 

From  the  little  shrubby  stalk  that  grows  on  the  shores  of  Lake 

Superior,  to  the  palmetto-like  corn  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 

valleys,  and  from  the  tiny  ears  and  flattened,  closely  clinging 

grains  of  the  extreme  North,  the  brilliant  rounded  little  pearl,  or 

the  thickly  wedged  rice  corn,  to  the  magnificently  elongated, 

swelling  ear  of  the  Kentucky,  with  its  deep  indented  gourd  seed, 

it  is  developed  in  every  grade  of  sub-variety.    The  kernels  are 

long,  round,  or  flat,  and  are  white,  yellow,  blue,  red  or  striated ; 

but  each  contain  the  same  principles  of  nutriment  combined  in 

somewhat  different  proportions,  and  contributes  for  equal  weights, 

nearly  in  the  same  ratio,  to  the  support  of  man  and  the  lower 

order  of  the  animal  creation.    The  analysis  of  com,  as  given  by 

Palson,  is  in  100  parts,  of 

Gluten,  etc.,  8.8 

Starch,  54.4 

Gum  and  sugar,  2.7 

Oil,     .  4.6 

Bran,  etc.,  15.8 

Ash,  1.7 

Water,   

100 

Besides  the  kinds  in  general  cultivation  in  this  country,  varie- 
ties have  been  occasionally  introduced  from  abroad,  of  a  character 
so  different  as  almost  to  entitle  them  to  the  distinction  of  inde- 
pendent species.  Such  are  the  Chinese  tree  corn,  bearing  its 
slender  ears  at  the  extremity  of  several  expanded  branches;  the 
Egyptian,  with  its  millet-like  head ;  the  Oregon,  with  its  separate 
husk  or  envelope  for  every  distinct  kernel.  But  if  we  narrowly 
watch  the  vagaries  of  nature,  we  shall  notice  deviations  from  the 
matter  of  fact  standards  of  our  domesticated  varieties,  which 
approximate  so  closely  to  the  most  fanciful  of  the  exotics,  that 
we  are  compelled  to  beheve  that  all  those  which  have  hitherto 
come  within  our  notice,  originated  from  one  common  head;  and 
that  all  the  peculiarities  are  owing  to  the  difference  of  soil,  climate 
and  culture,  and  the  carefully  cherished  eccentricities  of  nature, 
aided  by  a  skillful  science,  or  well  practiced  art.    It  is  needless 


168 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


to  particularize  the  many  popular  kinds  of  corn  under  successful 
cultivation  in  this  country.  They  are  found  to  vary  with  almost 
every  degree  of  latitude  and  longitude ;  and  there  are  not  unfre- 
quently,  numerous  kinds  held  in  deservedly  high  estimation  within 
a  single  district.  From  these  there  will  be  no  difficulty  in  select- 
ing such  as  will  best  repay  the  farmer's  attention. 

The  Soil  for  corn  must  be  dry,  rich  and  well  pulverized. 
Neither  strong  clay,  wet,  or  poor  lands  will  yield  good  crops  of 
corn.  Land  can  scarcely  be  too  rich  for  it,  and  the  fresher  and 
less  fermented  the  manure  appHed  to  it  is,  unless  on  light,  sandy 
soils,  the  better  it  will  be  for  the  crop.  A  great  error  is  com- 
mitted in  raising  corn  as  with  most  of  our  tillage  crops,  from  not 
having  the  soil  sufficiently  enriched;  though  this  error  is  dimin- 
ished in  the  case  of  such  as  will  not  bear  an  excess  of  manure. 
Corn  is  a  gross  feeder  and  necessarily  ranges  over  a  great  space 
in  search  of  food.  It  has  a  large  amount  of  stalk,  leaves  and 
grain  to  provide  for  in  a  few  weeks,  and  its  increase  will  be  com- 
mensurate with  the  supply  of  food. 

The  rapidity  with  which  corn  grows  in  tlte  richest  river  bot- 
toms, and  prairie  lands  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  valleys,  is 
surprising  to  those  not  famihar  with  its  habits.  After  a  heavy 
rain  in  the  months  of  July  or  August,  it  frequently  makes  a 
growth  of  some  inches  in  a  single  day.  In  passing  through  a 
field,  one  can  actually  "hear  it  grow,"  by  the  cracking  of  the 
sheaths  at  the  foot  of  the  leaves,  by  the  swelling  stalks,  making 
a  report  like  the  tiney  feu  dejoie  of  a  thousand  fire-crackers. 

A  clover  lay,  or  rich  grass  sod  is  an  excellent  preparation  for 
corn,  with  the  addition  of  manure  when  required.  But  the 
manure  should  always  be  scattered  broadcast,  plowed  and  well 
harrowed  in.  The  roots  will  be  certain  to  find  it,  and  in  conse- 
quence of  its  general  diffusion,  the  development  of  the  ear  and 
grain  will  correspond  with  that  of  the  stalk  and  leaves.  When 
manured  in  the  hill,  on  poor  soil,  it  comes  forward  early,  and  this 
induces  an  extension  of  the  roots,  which  finding  little  support,  the 
crop  is  hmited  to  the  stalks  and  leaves,  and  a  smaller  proportion 
of  grain. 


GRAIN  AND  ITS  CULTIVATION. 


169 


The  selection  of  Seed  should  be  made  with  the  utmost 
care,  not  only  from  the  best  varieties,  but  the  best  seed  of  the 
particular  kind  desired.  Some  of  the  choicest  have  been  brought 
to  their  present  perfection  by  selecting  only  the  earliest  and  largest 
ears  from  the  most  prolific  stalks.  This  ought  always  to  be  done 
before  the  corn  is  gathered  in  the  field  where  there  is  an  oppor- 
tunity for  comparison. 

Preparation  of  Seed. — Repeated  experiments  have  demon- 
strated the  great  utility  of  steeping  corn  for  twenty-four  to  forty- 
eiglit  hours  before  planting,  in  a  solution  of  saltpeter.  This 
accelerates  the  growth  of  the  plant,  and  is  a  protection  against 
birds,  squirrels  and  mice,  and  for  a  while  it  will  keep  off  worms. 
An  effectual  remedy  against  these  depredations  is  to  add  half  a 
pint  of  boiling  tar  to  a  peck  of  seed,  stirring  the  corn  briskly  for 
several  minutes  as  the  tar  is  added,  till  every  kernel  is  thinly 
coated  with  it.  This  supercedes  the  necessity  of  the  worse  than 
absurd  remedy  of  scarecrows.  The  majority  of  birds  are  of  great 
advantage  to  the  farmer  on  all  his  fields,  as  they  pick  up  number- 
less insects,  grubs  and  worms  which  infest  the  ground,  and  destroy 
or  seriously  injure  the  vegetation. 

Planting.- — Corn  may  be  planted  in  hills  from  three  to  four 
and  one-half  feet  asunder,  and  with  from  three  to  five  stalks  well 
spread  in  each  hill,  according  to  the  kind  of  seed,  quality  of  land, 
etc.  Some  plant  in  drills,  but  this  is  objectionable,  as  the  trouble 
of  cultivation  is  greater,  without  increasing  the  yield.  Thick 
planting  gives  fewer  ears  upon  a  stalk,  and  those  of  less  size. 
The  time  of  planting  at  the  North  is  usually  within  the  three  first 
weeks  of  May,  depending  much  on  the  season.  Late  frosts  will 
sometimes  cut  down  the  first  leaves  without  destroying  the  germ, 
but  it  is  always  best  to  defer  planting  till  all  apprehensions  of  it 
are  removed.  In  the  more  Southern  States,  earher  planting  is 
desirable,  and  it  is  there  put  into  the  ground  in  March  and  April* 
To  give  regularity  to  the  rows  and  facilitate  after  culture,  the 

*It  is  said  that  the  old  Indian  rule  was,  "  When  the  oak  leaves  grew  to  the  size  of 
a  squin-el's  foot,  it  was  time  to  plant  corn." 
8 


]70  AMERICAN  AGEICULTUKE. 

furrows  for  the  seed  should  be  struck  out  each  way  with  the 
utmost  exactness,  and  twice  the  corn  planted  that  is  required  to 
remain.  It  should  be  covered  about  two  inches.  The  surplus 
plants  can  be  pulled  up  at  the  second  hoeing  when  all  fear  of 
injury  is  past.  If  the  land  is  hght,  it  should  be  laid  flat  before 
planting,  and  after  this,  it  should  be  thoroughly  rolled.  Corn 
planting  implements,  by  hand  and  horse  power,  have  lately  been 
introduced  to  great  advantage  over  the  old  way  of  hand  and  hoe 
planting. 

Cultivation.— The  ground  may  be  stirred  when  the  plants 
first  show  themselves.    This  is  most  economically  done  with  the 
cultivator  or  light  plow,  and  if  the  operation  be  frequent  and 
thorough  there  will  be  little  use  for  the  hoe.    Hilling  or  heapmg 
the  earth  around  the  plants  should  always  be  avoided,  except  with 
very  heavy  soil  or  such  as  is  liable  to  an  excess  of  moisture;  ni 
all  other  cases  it  should  remain  flat.    Stirring  the  ground  in  dry 
weather  is  pecuharly  beneficial  to  corn  and  aU  hoed  crops.  Some 
omit  it  then  from  fear  of  the  escape  of  moisture,  but  its  effect  is 
precisely  the  reverse,  as  nothing  so  certainly  produces  lightness 
porosity,  and  unevenness  in  the  soil,  which  under  the  head  of 
soils  and  draining,  we  have  shown  facilitated  the  admission  and 
es-ape  of  heat,  that  inevitably  secures  the  deposit  of  large  quanti- 
ties of  moisture,  even  in  the  driest  and  most  sultry  weather. 
Corn  and  other  crops,  which  were  withermg  from  excessive 
drought  have  been  at  once  rescued  from  its  effects  by  a  thorough 
use  of  the  plow  and  cultivator.    Well  drained,  dark  colored  and 
rich  porous  soils  wiU  be  found  to  suffer  much  less  in  drought  than 
others  which  lack  these  characteristics. 

Harvesting.— If  there  be  no  danger  of  early  frost,  the  corn 
may  be  suffered  to  stand  untH  fully  ripe ;  though  if  the  stalks  are 
designed  for  fodder,  they  are  better  to  be  cut  when  the  gram  is 
well  glazed,  and  this  should  be  done  in  aU  cases  where  frost  is 
expected.  Scarcely  any  injury  occurs  either  to  the  leaf  or  gram 
if  the  corn  be  stocked,  when  both  would  be  seriously  damaged 
from  the  same  exposure  if  standing.    The  stalks  of  com  should 


GRAIN  AND  ITS  CULTIVATION. 


171 


never  be  cut  above  the  ear,  but  always  near  the  ground,  and  for 
this  obvious  reason :  The  sap  which  nourishes  the  grain  is  drawn 
from  the  earth,  and  passing  through  the  stem,  enters  the  leaf, 
where  a  change  is  effected  analogous  to  what  takes  place  in  the 
blood  when  brought  to  the  surface  of  the  lungs  in  the  animal 
system;  with  this  pecuhar  difference,  however,  that  while  the 
blood  gives  out  carbon  and  absorbs  oxygen,  plants  under  the 
influence  of  Hght  and  heat,  give  out  oxygen  and  absorb  carbon. 
This  change  prepares  the  sap  for  condensation  and  conversion 
into  the  grain.  But  the  leaves  which  thus  digest  the  food  for  the 
grain  are  above  it,  for  it  is  while  passing  downward  that  the 
change  of  the  sap  into  grain  principally  takes  place.  If  the  stalk 
be  cut  above  the  ear,  nourishment  is  at  an  end.  It  may  then  be- 
come firm  and  dry,  but  it  is  not  increased  in  quantity,  while,  if 
cut  near  the  root,  it  not  only  appropriates  the  sap  already  in  the 
plant,  but  it  also  absorbs  additional  matter  from  the  atmosphere, 
which  contributes  to  its  weight  and  perfection.  It  must  be  per- 
fectly dried  in  the  field,  and  after  this  husked  and  carried  into  an 
airy  loft  or  stored  in  latticed  or  open  barracks.  The  stalks  may 
be  housed  or  carefully  stacked  for  fodder.  Many  of  our  western 
farmers  allow  both  grain  and  stalks  to  stand  in  the  field  till 
wanted  for  use,  when  they  are  fed  in  an  adjoining  enclosure. 
This  is  more  economically  done  by  first  cutting  (or  what  is  bet- 
ter, by  both  cutting  and  grinding^  which  may  be  accomplished  by 
recently  invented  machinery,)  and  then  mixed  either  with  roots  or 
meal.  When  fodder  is  high,  the  stalks  and  leaves  will  repay  the 
expense  of  cultivation. 

Corn  for  Soiling. — Corn  has  recently  been  much  cultivated 
for  fodder,  and  for  this  purpose  the  soil  should  be  in  high  condi- 
tion and  well  pulverized.  It  should  be  prepared  in  a  pickle  of 
saltpeter,  hke  that  intended  for  ripening,  and  maybe  sown  broad- 
cast and  harrowed  in  at  the  rate  of  three  or  four  bushels  per 
acre.  A  much  better  method  is  to  sow  thickly  in  drills  and  stir 
the  ground  with  a  light  plow  or  cultivator.  The  sowing  may  be 
done  early  or  late,  though  the  first  is  most  successful.    It  should 


172 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


be  cut  before  the  frosts  touch  it,  and  dried  previous  to  bousing. 
Several  tons  of  excellent  forage  have  been  raised  from  a  single 
acre.  In  the  report  of  Mr.  Leak  to  the  Pedee  Agricultural  So- 
ciety, of  South  Carohna,  it  is  asserted  that  138,816  pounds  of 
green  cornstalks  have  been  cut  from  one  acre  in  a  season,  weigh- 
ing when  dry,  27,297  pounds. 

The  uses  of  corn  in  this  country  are  various.  It  is  largely 
fed  to  fattening  and  working  animals,  but  must  be  carefully  fed 
to  the  latter  and  only  in  cool  weather.  It  is  extensively  manu- 
factured into  highwines  and  whisky,  (the  latter  a  sad  perversion 
of  one  of  its  best  uses.)  It  is  converted  into  oil,  molasses  and 
sugar  to  a  very  hmited  extent,  and  is  variously  and  largely  ap- 
phed  to  domestic  uses.  While  green  it  is  boiled  and  roasted  in 
the  ear,  or  it  is  cut  from  the  cob  and  cooked  with  the  garden  or 
kidney  bean,  which  forms  the  Indian  succotash.  When  ripe,  it 
is  hulled  in  a  weak  lye,  then  boiled  and  known  as  hulled  corn  ;  or 
parched  over  a  hot  fire,  affording  a  dehcious  lunch  and  a  con- 
venient provision  for  hunters  as  popped  corn.  Hominy^  or  samp, 
is  a  favorite  dish,  and  consists  of  corn  coarsely  ground  and  boiled 
in  water;  and  hasty  pudding,  or  mush,  differs  from  this  in  being 
made  of  fine  meal.  The  meal  may  be  compounded  with  milk 
and  eggs  into  johnny  cakes,  puddings,  griddles  and  other  dehcacies 
universally  esteemed  for  the  table,  while  corn  bread,  in  infinite 
ways  of  cooking,  is  a  standing  and  favorite  food  with  a  large  ma- 
jority of  all  native  Americans. 

RICE,  (ORYZA  SATIVA,) 

Contributes  directly  to  the  support  of  a  larger  number  of  the 
human  family  than  any  other  plant.  In  China,  and  nearly  the 
whole  length  of  the  southern  part  of  Asia,  through  the  innumer- 
able and  densely  populated  islands  of  the  Pacific  and  Indian 
oceans,  in  the  southern  part  of  Europe,  and  a  large  extent  of 
Africa,  and  through  no  inconsiderable  portion  of  the  North  and 
South  American  continent,  it  is  extensively  grown,  and  forms  the 
staple  food  of  the  inhabitants.    Rice  requires  a  moist  soil,  and  is 


GRAIN  AND  ITS  CULTIVATION. 


17a 


much  more  productive  when  subject  to  inundation.  A  hot  sun 
is  also  necessary  to  mature  it,  and  as  a  result  of  these  two  essen- 
tial conditions,  its  culture  is  limited  to  regions  much  more  cir- 
cumscribed than  are  allotted  to  wheat,  maize  or  some  of  the 
usually  cultivated  plants.  We  subjoin  from  the  "American 
Agriculturist,"  an  excellent  article  on  the  cultivation  of  rice,  from^ 
the  pen  of  Dr.  Cartwright : 

"  There  are  many  varieties  of  rice,  but  I  am  induced  to  beheve 
that  they  are  all  essentially  aquatic.  All  the  varieties  yet  dis- 
covered flourish  best  under  the  inundation  system  of  culture; 
yield  more  to  the  acre,  give  less  trouble,  and  require  less  labor. 
Nevertheless,  each  variety  grows  pretty  well  on  hght,  moist  up- 
lands, without  irrigation,  when  cultivated  with  the  hoe  or  plow. 
The  product,  however,  is  so  much  less  than  by  the  irrigation  sys- 
tem, and  the  labor  of  tillage  so  much  more,  that  the  upland  pro- 
ducer never  can  compete  successfully  with  the  lowlander.  The 
farmer  may  curtail  his  expenses  by  growing  rice  for  domestic 
uses,  but  he  cannot,  very  profitably,  produce  it  for  sale.  Besides 
the  tenfold  labor  which  rice  on  upland  requires,  in  comparison  to 
that  cultivated  by  the  irrigation  system,  it  cannot  be  sown  thick 
enough  to  make  a  larger  yield  per  acre.  Space  must  be  left  for 
the  plow  or  hoe  to  till  the  rice,  which  is  not  necessary  in  those 
localities  where  it  can  be  overflowed  at  will  and  the  water  drawn 
off  as  occasion  may  require. 

"The  method  pursued  on  the  rice  lands  of  the  lower  Mississippi 
is  to  sow  the  rice  broadcast,  about  as  thick  as  you  sow  wheat  at 
the  North,  and  harrow  it  in  with  a  hght  harrow  having  many 
teeth,  the  ground  being  first  well  plowed  and  prepaid  by  ditches 
and  embankments  for  inundation  at  will.  It  is  generally  sown 
in  March.  Immediately  after  sowing  the  water  is  let  on,  so  as 
barely  t-o  overflow  the  ground.  The  water  is  withdrawn  on  the 
second,  third  or  fourth  day,  or  as  soon  as  the  grain  begins  to  swell. 
The  rice  very  soon  after  comes  up  and  grows  finely.  "When  it 
has  attained  about  three  inches  in  height,  the  water  is  again  let 
on,  the  top  leaves  being  lefl  a  little  above  the  water.  Complete 


174 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


immersion  would  kill  the  plant.  A  fortnight  previous  to  harvest 
the  water  is  drawn  off  to  give  the  stalks  strength,  and  to  dry  the 
ground  for  the  convenience  of  the  reapers. 

"  A  different  method  is  practiced  in  the  northern  part  of  Italy. 
The  seed  is  sown  in  April,  previously  to  which  it  is  soaked  a 
^day  or  two  in  water.  After  sowing,  about  two  inches  of  water 
is  let  in  upon  the  ground.  The  rice  comes  up  through  the  water, 
which  is  then  drawn  off  to  give  the  plant  strength,  and  after 
some  days  is  again  let  on.  The  rice  is  more  apt  to  mildew  under 
this  practice  than  our  method  of  letting  the  water  on,  about  the 
time  the  Italians  draw  it  off. 

"  The  same  measure  of  ground  yields  three  times  as  much  rice 
as  wheat.  The  only  labor  after  sowing  is  to  see  that  the  rice  is 
properly  irrigated,  except  in  some  localities  where  aquatic  plants 
prove  troublesome,  the  water  effectually  destroying  all  others. 

"The  rice  grounds  of  the  lower  Mississippi  produce  about 
seventy-live  dollars  worth  of  rice  per  acre.  The  variety  called 
the  Creole  white  rice  is  considered  to  be  the  best.  In  the  east- 
ern part  of  the  State  of  Mississippi,  called  the  ^piny  woods^^  rice 
is  very  generally  cultivated  on  the  uplands.  Although  it  cannot 
be  made  a  profitable  article  of  export,  yet  it  affords  the  people  of 
that  interior  region  an  abundant  supply  of  a  healthy  and  nutri- 
tious food  for  themselves  and  a  good  provender  for  their  cattle, 
and  makes  them  independent  of  the  foreign  market.  Unlike 
other  kinds  of  grain,  it  can  be  kept  for  many  years  without  spoil- 
ing, in  a  warm  climate,  by  simply  wmnowing  it  semi-annually, 
which  prevents  the  weevil  and  a  small  black  insect  that  some- 
times attacl%  it.  It  is  cultivated  entirely  with  the  plow  and 
harrow,  and  grows  well  on  the  pine  barrens.  A  bull-tongued 
plow,  a  kind  of  shovel  plow,  drawn  by  one  horse,  is  driven 
through  the  unbroken  pine  forest;  not  a  tree  being  cut  or  belted, 
and  no  grubbing  being  necessary,  as  there  is  little  or  no  under- 
growth. The  plow  makes  a  shallow  furrow  about  an  inch  or 
two  deep,  the  furrows  about  three  feet  apart.  The  rice  is  drop- 
ped into  them  and  covered  with  a  harrow.    The  middles,  or 


GRAIN  AND  ITS  CULTIVATION. 


175 


spaces  between  the  furrows,  are  not  broken  up  until  the  rice  at- 
tains several  inches  in  height.  One  or  two  plowings  suffice  in 
the  piny  woods  for  its  cultivation — weeds  and  grass,  owing  to 
the  nature  of  the  soil,  not  being  troublesome.  A  similar  method 
of  cultivation  obtains  on  the  prairie  land  of  the  North-western 
States. 

"Bice,  like  hemp,  does  not  impoverish  the  soil.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  is  a  good  preparatory  crop  for  some  others,  as  Indian 
corn.  The  pine  barrens  of  Mississippi  would  produce  rice  ad 
infinitum^  if  it  were  not  that  the  land,  after  a  fev/  years,  owing 
to  the  sandy  nature  of  the  soil,  becomes  too  dry  for  it.  It  has 
been  ascertained  by  Arnal  that  twelve  pounds  of  wheat  flour  and 
two  pounds  of  rice  will  make  twenty-four  pounds  of  an  excellent 
bread,  very  white  and  good ;  whereas,  without  the  addition  of 
rice,  fourteen  pounds  of  flour  will  only  make  eighteen  pounds  of 
bread. 

"  Like  other  kinds  of  grain,  rice  adapts  itself  to  the  soil  and 
climate,  and  particular  mode  of  cultivation ;  but  if  the  seed  be 
not  changed,  or  selected  from  the  best  specimens  of  the  plant,  it 
will  ultimately  degenerate.  Thus  in  Piedmont,  after  a  long  series 
of  years,  the  rice  became  so  much  affected  with  a  kind  of  bhght 
called  the  hrusone,  as  to  compel  the  Piedmontese  to  import  fresh 
seed  in  1829,  from  South  Carolina.  The  American  rice  intro- 
duced into  Piedmont  escaped  the  hrusone,  but  it  was  several 
years  before  it  adapted  itself  to  the  soil  and  climate.  Some 
years  ago,  a  French  traveler  by  the  name  of  Poivre,  finding  rice 
growing  in  great  perfection  on  the  mountains  and  highlands  of 
Asia,  particularly  Cochin  China,  named  it  "n^  sec,"  or  dry  rice, 
and  sent  the  seed  to  Europe,  where  many  experiments  were 
made  with  it.  It  yielded  no  better  than  any  other  kind  of  rice, 
and  was  found  like  all  others,  to  succeed  best  when  inundated. 
The  reason  why  it  yielded  so  much  more  in  Asia  than  in  Europe, 
can  be  readily  accounted  for,  by  the  natural  inundations  it 
receives  from  the  excessive  rains  during  the  monsoons. 

"No  variety  has  been  discovered  which  yields  as  much  out  of 
the  water  as  it  does  in  it.    There  are  many  locahties  in  the 


•176 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


United  States,  where  the  culture  of  rice  by  the  irrigating  system, 
would  rather  serve  to  make  the  surrounding  neighborhoods 
healthy  instead  of  sickly.  It  is  generally  admitted,  that  a  given 
surface  of  ground  completely  inundated,  is  much  less  unhealthy 
than  the  same  surface  partially  inundated,  or  in  transitu  between 
the  wet  and  the  dry  state.  Hence  mill  ponds,  which  partially 
dry  up  in  the  summer,  are  fruitful  sources  of  disease.  Some  of 
the  best  rice  is  said  to  grow  on  the  bottom  of  mill  ponds. 
Nothing  more  is  necessary,  than  to  make  the  bottom  of  the  mill 
pond  perfectly  level,  and  then  to  overflow  the  whole  surface  just 
deep  enough  to  keep  the  top  leaves  above  water.  As  if  to  show, 
that  unhealthiness  is  not  necessarily  connected  with  the  culture 
of  this  valuable  grain,  nature  has  imposed  a  law  upon  it,  order- 
ing that  it  should  flourish  better  when  overflowed  with  pure 
running  water  than  with  the  stagnant  waters  of  impure  lakes 
and  marshes. 

"There  are  two  kinds  of  rice  which  are  said  to  succeed  best 
on  uplands:  the  long  and  the  round.  The  former  has  a  red 
chaff,  and  is  very  difficult  to  beat  out  from  the  husk.  The  latter 
shakes  out,  if  not  cut  as  soon  as  ripe.  They  nevertheless  suc- 
ceed best  under  the  inundation  system  of  culture.  In  the  Eastern 
hemisphere,  rice  is  cultivated  as  far  north  as  the  forty-sixth 
degree  of  latitude.  The  climate  of  the  United  States  is  better 
suited  to  it  than  that  of  Europe,  because  our  summers  are 
hotter.  In  the  northern  part  of  China,  the  variety  called  the 
Imperial  rice,  or  riz  sec  de  la  Chine^  (the  oriza  sativa  mutica^) 
>is  more  precocious  than  any  other,  is  said  to  yield  a  heavy  har- 
vest, and  to  constitute  the  principal  food  for  the  people  of  that 
populous  region.  But  it  has  succeeded  no  better  in  Europe  than 
any  other  kind  of  rice. 

'^The  best  rice  lands  of  South  Carolina  are  valued  at  five 
hundred  dollars  per  acre,  while  the  best  cotton  lands  sell  for  a 
tenth  part  of  that  sum,  proving  that  rice  is  more  profitable  than 
cotton.  The  profits  of  a  crop  should  not  so  much  be  estipaated 
by  the  yield  per  acre,  as  the  number  of  acres  a  laborer  can  till. 


GRAIN  AND  ITS  CULTIVATION. 


177 


After  the  land  is  properly  prepared  for  inundation,  by  leveling, 
ditching,  and  embankments,  a  single  individual  can  grow  almost 
an  indefinite  quantity  of  rice.  Eice  is  no  doubt  ultimately 
destined  to  supercede  cotton  in  a  large  portion  of  Mississippi 
and  Louisiana."  Under  the  now  changed  and  free  system  of 
labor  in  the  South,  this  fact  may  be  somewhat  problematical. 
But  things  will  all  find  their  level,  and  after  a  time,  we  trust, 
resume  a  substantial,  well  compensated,  and  happier  disposition 
of  labor  than  ever  before. 

MILLET,  (PANICUM  MILLIACEUM.) 

In  its  growth  and  the  manner  of  bearing  its  seeds,  the  millet 
strongly  resembles  a  miniature  broom  corn.  It  grows  to  the 
height  of  two  and  a  half  to  four  feet,  with  a  profusion  of  stalks 
and  leaves  which  furnish  excellent  forage  for  cattle.  From 
eighty  to  a  hundred  bushels  of  seed  per  acre  have  been  raised, 
and  with  straw  equivalent  to  one  and  a  half  or  two  tons  of  hay, 
but  an  average  crop  may  be  estimated  at  about  one-third  this 
quantity.  Owing  to  the  great  waste  during  the  ripening  of  the 
seed,  from  the  shelling  of  the  earliest  of  it  before  the  last  is 
matured,  and  the  frequent  depredations  of  birds  which  are  very 
fond  of  it,  millet  is  more  profitably  cut  when  the  first  seeds  have 
begun  to  ripen,  and  harvested  for  fodder.  It  is  cured  like  hay, 
and  on  good  land  yields  from  two  and  a  half  to  four  tons  per 
acre.  All  cattle  relish  it,  and  experience  has  shown  it  to  be  fully 
equal  to  good  hay. 

Cultivation. — Millet  requires  a  dry,  rich,  and  well  pulverized 
soil.  It  will  grow  on  thin  soil,  but  best  repays  on  the  most  fer- 
tile. It  should  be  sown  broadcast  or  in  drills,  from  the  first  of 
May  to  the  first  of  July.  If  for  hay,  and  sown  broadcast,  forty 
quarts  per  acre  will  be  required ;  if  sown  in  drills  for  the  grain, 
eight  quarts  of  seed  will  suffice.  It  will  ripen  in  sixty  to 
seventy-five  days,  with  favorable  weather.  When  designed  for 
fodder,  the  nearer  it  can  approach  to  ripening,  without  waste  in 

harvesting,  the  more  valuable  will  be  the  crop. 
8^ 


178 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


BUCKWHEAT  OR  BEECHWHEAT,  (POLYGONUM  FAGOPYRUM,) 

Is  a  grain  much  cultivated  in  this  country.  It  grows  freely  on 
light  soils,  but  yields  a  remunerating  crop  only  on  those  which 
are  fertile.  Fresh  manure  is  injurious  to  this  grain.  Sandy  loams 
are  its  favorite  soils,  especially  such  as  have  lain  long  in  pasture, 
and  these  should  be  well  plowed  and  harrowed.-  It  may  be  sown 
from  the  first  of  May  to  the  tenth  of  August,  but  in  the  Northern 
States  this  ought  to  be  done  as  early  as  June  or  July,  or  it  may 
be  injured  by  early  frosts,  which  are  fatal  to  it.  It  is  sown  broad- 
cast at  the  rate  of  two  to  four  pecks  per  acre,  and  harvested  when 
the  earliest  seed  is  fully  ripe.  The  plant  often  continues  flower- 
ing after  this,  and  when  the  early  seed  is  blighted,  as  is  often  the 
case,  the  plant  may  be  left  till  these  last  have  matured.  As  it  is 
liable  to  heat,  it  should  be  placed  in  little  stoohs,  of  the  size  of  a 
two  bushel  basket,  over  the  field,  and  as  soon  as  dry,  taken  in 
and  threshed  out.  If  not  perfectly  dry,  the  straw  may  be  stacked 
with  layers  of  other  straw,  and  when  well  cured,  it  will  be  a  valu- 
able fodder  for  cattle.  Sheep  and  young  horses  will  feed  and 
thrive  as  well  on  this  straw  as  on  ordinary  hay. 

Uses. — This  grain  is  ground  and  bolted,  and  the  flour  is  much 
used  for  human  consumption.  Before  grinding,  the  hull  or  outer 
covering  is  removed,  and  when  thus  prepared,  the  flour  is  as 
white  and  delicate  in  appearance  as  the  best  rye.  It  is  equally 
light  and  digestible,  and  is  scarcely  inferior  to  wheat  in  its  nutri- 
tive properties.  The  grain  is  used  for  fattening  swine,  but  is 
most  profitable  when  mixed  with  corn.  Poultry  thrive  upon  it. 
Buckwheat  was  formerly  employed  as  a  fertihzer,  but  for  this 
object  it  is  inferior  to  the  clovers  in  all  cases  where  the  soil  is 
capable  of  sustaining  them.  Its  rapid  growth  will  insure  the 
maturing  and  turning  under  of  two  crops  in  one  season.  There 
are  other  varieties  than  the  one  specified,  but  none  of  equal  value 
for  general  cultivation  in  this  country. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


LEGUMINOUS  PLANTS. 

THE  PEA,  (PISUM  SATIVUM.) 

The  pea,  bean,  tare,  vetch,  lupine,  the  clovers,  etc.,  are  all 
embraced  in  the  botanical  order  Leguminosce.  The  pea  is  valua- 
ble for  cultivation  not  only  for  the  table,  but  for  many  of  the 
domestic  animals.  It  is  much  fed  to  swine,  sheep  and  poultry. 
For  the  former,  it  should  be  soaked,  boiled  or  ground.  If  land 
is  adapted  to  it,  few  crops  can  be  more  profitably  raised  for  their 
use.  They  ripen  early,  and  when  beginning  to  harden  they  may 
be  fed  with  the  vines,  and  the  animals  will  masticate  the  whole 
and  soon  fatten. 

The  Soil. — The  heaviest  clays  will  bear  good  peas,  but  a 
calcareous  or  wheat  soil  is  better.  Strong  lands  produce  the  best 
crops,  but  these  should  be  made  so  by  manures  previously  applied, 
as  the  addition  of  such  as  are  fresh  increases  the  growth  of  haulm 
or  straw,  and  sometimes  diminishes  both  the  quantity  and  quality 
of  the  pea.  When  sown  on  a  thin  sward,  the  manure  should  be 
spread  before  plowing.  A  dressing  of  well  rotted  manure  increases 
the  crop,  and  is  a  good  preparation  when  intended  to  be  followed 
by  wheat. 

Varieties. — Of  these  there  are  many.  The  earlier  kinds  are 
generally  indifferent  bearers,  and  their  cultivation  is  limited  almost 
exclusively  to  the  garden.  Of  those  for  field  culture,  the  marrow- 
fat are  preferred  for  good  lands,  and  are  a  rich  pea.  The  small 
yellow  are  perhaps  the  best  for  poorer  soils.  There  is  a  very 
prolific  hush  pea  grown  in  Georgia,  bearing  pods  six  or  seven 


180 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


inches  long,  which  hang  in  clusters  on  a  short,  upright  stem. 
The  pods  are  filled  with  a  white  pea,  which  is  highly  esteemed 
for  the  table  either  green  or  dry.  In  that  latitude  they  bear  two 
or  three  crops  in  one  season. 

Cultivation. — Peas  should  have  a  clean  fallow,  or  fresh,  rich 
sod,  well  harrowed.  They  are  not  affected  by  frosts,  and  may  be 
sown  as  soon  as  the  ground  is  dry.  This  will  enable  them  to 
ripen  in  season  to  plow  for  wheat.  They  are  very  liable  to  attack 
from  the  pea  bug,  which  deposits  its  egg  in  the  pea  while  in  its 
green  state,  where  it  hatches,  and  the  worm  by  feeding  on  the 
pea,  diminishes  its  weight  nearly  one-half.  Here  it  remains 
throijgh  the  winter  and  comes  out  as  a  bug  the  following  season. 
To  avoid  this  pest,  some  sow  only  such  seed  as  has  been  kept 
over  two  years,  while  others  sow  as  late  as  the  fifteenth  or  twenty- 
fifth  of  May,  which  delays  the  pea  till  after  the  period  of  its  attacks, 
but  this  latter  practice  seldom  gives  a  large  crop.  It  may  be 
killed  by  pouring  boiling  water  upon  the  seed,  stirring  for  a  few 
minutes,  and  then  draining  it  off.  Peas  are  sometimes  sown  in 
drills,  but  most  usually  broadcast,  at  the  rate  of  two  or  three 
bushels  per  acre.  It  is  better  to  plow  them  in  to  the  depth  of 
three  inches  and  afterwards  to  roll  the  ground  smooth  to  facihtate 
gathering.  When  sown  in  drills  they  may  be  worked  by  the  cul- 
tivator soon  afi;er  coming  up.  The  growth  is  promoted  by  steep- 
ing the  seed  for^twenty  or  thirty  hours  in  urine,  and  then  rolling 
it  in  ashes  or  plaster. 

Harvesting  is  accomplished  by  cutting  with  the  scythe,  or 
what  is  more  expeditious,  (wnen  fully  ripe,  so  that  the  roots  pull 
out  easily,)  with  the  horse  rake.  "When  thus  gathered  into  heaps 
and  well  dried,  they  may  be  threshed  out  and  the  haulm  care- 
fully stacked  and  saved  for  sheep  fodder.  If  this  is  secured  in 
good  condition,  cattle  and  sheep  will  do  well  upon  it.  Peas  are  fi'e- 
quently  sown  with  oats,  and  when  thus  grown  they  are  fed  to 
sheep  unground,  or  made  into  meal  for  swine. 

The  Cow  Pea. — This  is  grown  in  the  Southern  States,  and 
is  valuable  either  as  a  fertilizer  or  as  food  for  domestic  animals. 


LEGUMINOUS  PLANTS. 


181 


Its  long  vines  and  succulent  leaves,  which  draw  much  of  their 
substance  from  the  air,  and  its  rapid  and  luxuriant  growth,  par- 
ticularly  adapt  it  to  the  first  object,  while  its  numerous  and  well 
filled  pods,  and  its  great  redundancy  of  stem  and  leaf,  afford  large 
stores  of  forage.  This  is  improved  for  cattle  when  harvested  be- 
fore the  seed  is  fully  ripe.  It '  is  sown  broadcast,  in  drills,  or 
hoed  in  among  corn,  when  the  latter  is  well  advanced.  If  in 
drills,  it  may  be  cultivated  in  its  early  stages  by  the  plow,  shovel- 
harrow  or  cultivator.  It  may  be  cut  with  the  scythe  or  drawn 
together  with  a  heavy  iron-toothed  harrow,  or  horse  rake,  as 
with  the  common  pea.  It  requires  a  dry,  medium  soil,  and  is 
well  suited  to  clays. 

THE  BEAN,  (PHASEOLUS  VULGARIS.) 

The  bean  is  often  a  field  crop  in  this  country,  and  especially  in 
the  Northern  and  Middle  States.  It  is  principally  used  either 
green  or  dry  for  the  table.  It  is  a  palatable  and  highly  con- 
densed food,  containing  much  in  a  small  compass.  In  proportion 
to'  its  weight,  it  gives  more  nutriment  than  any  of  the  ordinary 
vegetables ;  according  to  Einhof,  yielding  84  per  cent,  of  nutri- 
tive matter,  while  wheat  gives  only  74.  It  has,  in  common  with 
the  pea,  vetch,  etc.,  though  in  a  greater  proportion,  a  pecuhar 
principle  termed  legumin,  which  is  analagous  to  casein,  the  ani- 
mal principle  in  milk,  which  is  convertible  into  cheese,  and  in  its 
nutritive  properties  it  is  essentially  the  same  as  ihejihrin  of  lean 
meat,  the  albumen  of  eggs,  and  other  animal  matter.  There  is 
no  vegetable  we  produce  so  fitted  to  supply  the  place  of  animal 
food  as  the  bean. 

Soil. — The  bean  is  partial  to  a  quick,  dry  soil,  too  great 
strength  or  fresh  manuring  giving  a  large  quantity  of  vine  with- 
out a  corresponding  quantity  of  fruit. 

Cultivation. — The  land  should  be  finely  pulverized,  and  if 
at  all  inclined  to  wet  it  should  be  ridged.  Beans  are  tender  plants 
and  will  not  bear  the  slightest  frost,  and,  as  they  grow  rapidly, 
they  will  be  sure  to  ripen  if  planted  when  this  is  no  longer  to  be 


182 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


apprehended.  The  seed  is  exposed  to  rot  if  put  into  the  ground 
in  a  cold,  wet  time,  and  the  land  should,  therefore,  be  previously 
well  warmed  by  the  sun.  The  bush  beans  are  the  only  kind 
used  for  field  planting,  and  of  these  there  are  several  sub-varie- 
ties. The  long  garden  pole  beans,  white,  red  or  mottled,  are 
great  bearers,  of  fine  quality  and  early  maturing,  but  the  Lima 
bean,  although  later,  is  the  richest  and  best  of  all  for  table  use. 
Early  ripening,  with  field  beans,  is  important,  when  other  crops 
are  to  succeed  the  same  season.  They  are  usually  planted  in 
hills  about  two  feet  apart,  and  also  in  drills  covered  two  inches 
with  fine  earth.  They  have  been  sown  broadcast,  on  clean  dry 
soils,  and  produced  largely.  When  planted  in  hills,  from  four  to 
six  plants  should  be  left  in  each,  according  to  their  proximity, 
or  if  in  drills  they  need  about  one  and  a  half  bushels  of  seed  to 
the  acre. 

Harvesting. — ^When  the  beans  are  fully  formed  and  there  is 
any  danger  of  frost,  they  should  be  at  once  secured,  but  this 
scarcely  affects  them  when  they  are  gathered  and  thrown  into 
heaps.  If  the  ground  is  not  wanted  for  other  uses,  they  may 
stand  until  the  latest  pods  assume  a  yellow  color.  They  are 
pulled  with  ease  when  the  plant  is  mature,  as  the  fibres  of  the 
roots  are  by  that  time  dead.  This  is  more  quickly  accompHshed 
with  an  iron  hook  rake,  or  if  the  stalks  are  partially  green  they 
can  be  mown.  The  vines,  if  not  dry,  should  remain  for  a  while 
in  small  heaps,  and  afterwards  collected  in  larger  piles  around 
stakes  set  at  convenient  distances,  with  the  roots  in  the  center 
and  secured  at  the  top  by  a  wisp  of  straw ;  and  when  well  dried 
they  should  be  threshed,  cleaned  and  spread  till  quite  free  from 
dampness.  The  straw  or  haulm  is  an  excellent  fodder  for  sheep 
and  should  be  stacked  for  their  use.  Beans  are  one  of  the  best 
kinds  of  winter  food  for  sheep  when  fed  in  small  quantities. 
Forty  bushels  have  been  raised  on  an  acre,  and  worth  from  $1 
to  $3  per  bushel.  Twenty  to  thirty  bushels  per  acre  is  the  usual 
crop.  Sheep  are  the  only  animals  which  will  eat  them  raw,  but 
swine,  cattle  and  poultry  will  thrive  on  them  boiled. 


LEGUMINOUS  PLANTS. 


183 


There  are  three  varieties  of  field,  or  bush  bean  usually  cultiva- 
ted in  the  United  States.  The  small  white  is  most  commonly 
grown.  It  is  the  most  prohfic,  bearing  the  closest  culture,  and 
the  best  for  shipping  purposes,  being  very  hard,  solid,  and  keeps 
longest  on  sea  voyages.  The  kidney^  or  long  white,  is  much 
larger  and  of  better  edible  quality,  requiring  a  longer  time  to 
mature,  with  a  ranker  growth ;  and  the  marrow^  with  a  large 
round  kernel,  and  of  equally  good  edible  quahty  as  the  kidney, 
requiring  the  same  time  to  mature.  These  two  last  are  usually 
worth  full  25  per  cent,  more  in  the  market  than  the  small  white, 
on  account  of  their  superior  excellence  for  table  use. 

THE  ENGLISH  FIELD  BEAN,  (viCIA  FABA,) 

Is  cultivated  under  many  varieties  in  Europe,  and  particularly 
in  Great  Britain,  as  a  field  crop  for  the  use  of  horses  and  other 
animals.  Among  these  are  the  Windsor,  the  thick,  the  long  pods, 
and  others,  Arthur  Young  prefers  ^*  the  common  little  horse 
bean  as  being  more  generally  marketable."  We  have  tried  sev- 
eral of  these  varieties,  and,  although  entirely  successful,  have 
found  them  less  adapted  to  our  climate  and  agriculture  than  the 
ordinary  crops.  They  prefer  strong  clay  or  loam  clay  soils. 
They  cannot  be  profitably  grown  in  America,  the  climate  being 
too  hot  and  dry  for  them. 

THE  TARE,  VETCH  OR  FITCH,  (viCIA  SATIRA,) 

Is  an  important  field  crop  in  Europe  for  its  stem  and  leaves  as 
animal  food.  It  is  hardy  and  productive,  and  considered  valu- 
able for  green  fodder  or  soiling.  There  are  two  kinds,  the  win 
ter  and  spring.  It  is  partial  to  a  clay,  but  grows  indifferently  on 
any  rich  soil  which  is  not  too  dry.  It  is  sown  broadcast  or  in 
drills,  but  generally  the  former,  on  well  pulverized  lands,  and 
covered  with  the  harrow,  demanding  no  after  attention  but  the 
extermination  of  weeds.  They  are  most  useful  for  soiling,  but 
may  be  fed  on  the  ground  or  cut  for  hay.  Tares  have,  hitherto, 
been  little  grown  in  this  country,  but  in  certain  soils  and  situa- 


184 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


tions  they  may  be  introduced  as  a  substitute  for  clover,  where, 
from  any  cause,  the  latter  does  not  grow  successfully.  All 
domestic  stock  are  fond  of  them.  As  yet,  tares  have  had  Httle 
success  here,  owing,  probably,  to  our  dry  and  hot  summers. 

THE  PINDA  OR  GROUND  PEANUT,  (aRACHIS  HYPOGJEA.)  * 

This  is  a  legumen,  and  is  cultivated  with  profit  in  the  South- 
ern States,  on  Hght  sandy  lands,  where  it  yields  from  twenty  to 
even  fifty  bushels  per  acre,  besides  furnishing  much  haulm  for 
forage.  It  is  sown  in  drills  four  or  five  feet  apart,  and  worked 
with  a  light  plow  or  cultivator  immedietely  after  the  plants  show 
themselves  above  ground.  They  soon  overspread  the  whole  sur- 
face, like  a  bushy  running  pea.  It  has  a  yellowish  pea-like  blos- 
som. The  small  pod,  contained  in  the  blossom,  strikes  downward 
into  the  soil,  and  ripens  its  seed  beneath  the  surface. 

When  properly  matured,  the  pods  are  loosened  by  a  fork  and 
pulled  up  by  hand,  and  after  curing  are  put  under  cover  for 
winter's  use.  They  contain  a  large  quantity  of  oil,  but  in  other 
respects,  closely  resemble  the  common  pea  and  bean  in  their 
nutritive  quahties.  They  are  in  high  repute  for  their  fattening 
qualities. 


CHAPTEE  IX 


EOOTS  AND  ESCULENT  TUBERS. 
THE  POTATO,  (SOLANUM  TUBEROSUM.) 

The  potato  is  a  native  of  the  American  Continent.    It  is  found 
in  a  wild  state  both  ia  Buenos  Ayres  and  Chih,  and  was  probably 
discovered  in  the  same  condition  by  the  early  settlers  of  North 
America.    It  was  supposed  to  have  been  taken  into  Spain  and 
Italy  early  in  the  sixteenth  century,  by  Spanish  adventurers,  as 
it  was  cultivated  in  those  countries  in  1550.    In  1588  it  was 
introduced  into  Vienna  from  Italy,  and  also  into  England  proba- 
bly  as  early  as  1586,  by  the  colonists  of  Virginia  who  were  sent 
out  by  Sir  Walter  Kaleigh.    It  was  regarded  in  Europe  at  first 
as  a  dehcacy ;  but  not  mitil  within  a  comparatively  recent  period 
has  it  found  its  way  in  both  continents,  as  an  article  of  agricul- 
tural attention,  and  an  almost  indispensable  food  for  man  and 
beast.    As  an  illustration  of  the  neglect  of  the  potato  in  this  coun- 
try as  a  field  crop,  the  writer  may  mention  that  he  once  knew  an 
extensive  eastern  farmer,  who,  late  in  the  last  century  had  raised 
in  one  year  seven  bushels  of  potatoes.    After  disposing  of  all 
that  was  wanted  for  his  own  and  his  neighbors'  consumption,  he 
had  still  a  surplus  left.    A  farmer  on  the  same  premises  at  the 
present  day,  would  deem  seven  hundred  bushels  a  short  crop. 

Varieties. — These  are  almost  illimitable.  They  differ  in  form 
from  round  to  oblong,  are  flat  and  curved,  or  kidney-shaped;  they 
vary  in  size  from  the  delicate  lady-finger  to  the  gigantic  blue- 
nose  ;  their  exterior  is  rough  or  pohshed,  and  of  almost  every 
hue,  white,  yellow,  red,  and  almost  black;  and  the  surface  is 


186 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


smooth  and  even,  with  the  eye  scarcely  discernible,  or  deeply 
indented  with  innumerable  sunken  eyes  like  the  rohan  and  merino. 
The  interior  is  equally  diversified  in  color,  and  is  mealy,  glutinous 
or  watery,  and  sometimes  pleasant,  and  sometimes  disagreeable 
to  the  taste.  They  hkewise  differ  in  ripening  earher  or  later,  and 
in  being  adapted  in  some  of  their  varieties  to  almost  every  pecul- 
iarity of  soil.  New  kinds  are  produced  at  pleasure,  by  planting 
the  seed  found  in  the  balls.  The  tubers  obtained  in  this  way  will 
be  small  the  first  season,  but  with  careful  culture  will  be  large 
enough  the  second  year  to  determine  their  quality,  when  the  best 
may  be  selected  for  propagation.  The  earhest  are  easily  desig- 
nated by  the  premature  decay  of  the  tops.  The  varieties  may 
also  be  increased  from  the  seed  by  hybridizing,  or  impregnating 
the  pistils  of  one  flower  by  the  pollen  taken  from  the  flower  of 
another,  and  in  this  way  some  of  the  best  and  most  valuable  kinds 
have  been  procured.  Such  as  have  no  flowers  are  more  produc- 
tive of  tubers,  as  there  is  no  expenditure  of  vitality  in  forming  the 
seed.  They  may  be  compelled  to  flower  by  removing  the  small 
tubers  from  the  stalks  as  they  form. 

The  best  Soil  for  potatoes  is  a  rich  loam,  neither  too  wet  or 
too  dry ;  but  such  as  are  cool  and  moist,  as  those  of  Maine,  Nova 
Scotia  and  Ireland,  especially  if  in  rich,  fresh  sod,  give  the  best 
flavored  potatoes,  and  are  the  least  Hable  to  disease.  A  calca- 
reous soil  yields  a  good  potato,  and  generally  a  sure  crop,  and 
when  there  is  little  hme  in  the  soil,  it  should  be  added.  Salt, 
ashes  and  gypsum  are  excellent  manures,  and,  in  certain  instances, 
have  astonishingly  increased  the  product.  Crushed  bones  also 
greatly  improve  a  potato  soil.  Fresh  manures  will  often  unpleas- 
antly affect  the  taste  of  the  potato,  and  when  necessary  to  apply 
it,  should  be  scattered  broadcast  and  plowed  in. 

The  Seed  chosen  should  be  such  as  experience  has  decided  is 
best  adapted  to  the  soil  and  the  use  for  which  they  are  to  be 
appropriated.  Some  are  careful  to  select  the  most  mealy  for  the 
table,  and  plant  those  which  give  the  greatest  yield  for  their  cattle. 
This  is  mistaken  policy,  as  what  are  best  for  man,  are  generally 


ROOTS. 


best  for  cattle;  and  although  the  farmer  may  get  a  much  greater 
weight  and  bulk  on  a  given  quantity  of  land  of  one  kind,  it  may 
still  be  inferior  in  fat  and  flesh-forming  materials  to  those  afforded 
by  a  smaller  quantity.  Thus  of  three  varieties  grown  in  Scot- 
land in  1842,  tlfe  cups  gave  13M  tons  per  acre,  containing  2ft 
tons  of  starch;  the  red  dons  yielded  UK  tons  and  1ft  of  starch; 
the  white  dons,  IS}£  tons  and  2ft  of  starch,  and  the  kidney  has 
even  given  as  much  as  thirty-two  per  cent,  of  starch,— Johnston, 
There  is  also  a  difference  in  the  relative  proportions  of  gluten. 
Of  this  last,  the  potato  contains  in  its  new  and  ripe  state,  about 
two  and  one-fourth  per  cent.,  which  diminishes  by  long  keeping. 
It  is  important  in  this  as  in  an  infinite  number  of  other  practical 
matters  in  the  economy  of  agriculture,  to  have  agricultural  labora- 
tories of  unquestionable  rehability,  where  the  errors  of  superficial 
observation  maybe  detected,  and  where  the  real  superiority  of 
one  product  over  another,  and  their  variations  induced  by  soils, 
manures  and  treatment,  maybe  estabhshed  beyond  the  possibihty 
of  a  doubt. 

Planting. — ^To  produce  abundantly,  potatoes  require  a  fer- 
tile soil,  and  if  not  already  sufaciently  rich,  manure  should  be 
spread  on  the  surface  before  plowing.    If  a  tough  sod,  it  should 
be  plowed  the  preceding  fall,  or  if  friable,  it  may  be  done  just 
before  planting;  but  in  all  cases  the  land  should  be  put  in  such 
condition  as  to  be  perfectly  loose  and  mellow.    Hills  are  the  most 
convenient  for  tillage,  as  they  admit  of  more  thorough  stirring  of 
the  ground  with  the  cultivator  or  plow.    Medium  size,  split  pota- 
toes have  been  ascertained  from  numerous  experiments  to  be  the 
best  for  planting,  and  when  seed  is  scarce,  it  is  sometimes  econom- 
ical to  quarter  them.    Six  or  seven  eyes  should  be  placed  in 
each  hill,  or  if  in  drills,  the  pieces  should  be  planted  ten  inches 
apart.    The  distance  both  of  hills  and  drills  must  depend  on  the 
strength  of  the  soil  and  the  size  of  the  tops,  some  varieties  grow- 
ing much  larger  than  others.    Cover  with  fight  mold  to  the 
depth  of  four  inches,  and  if  the  soil  be  light,  leave  the  ground  per- 
fectly level ;  if  cold,  heavy  or  moist,  let  the  hill,  or  drill  be  raised 


188 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


when  finished.  Subsoil  plowing  is  a  great  help  to  potatoes.  The 
sets  cut  from,  the  seed  end  give  a  much  earher  crop  than  those  from 
the  root. 

Cultivation. — When  the  plants  first  appear  above  the  ground, 
run  the  plow  through  them,  and  throw  the  earth  over  them  two 
or  three  inches,  and  no  injury  results  if  the  tops  are  partially  or 
even  entirely  covered.  The  hoe  is  scarcely  required,  except  to 
destroy  such  weeds  as  may  have  escaped  the  plow.  The  ground 
should  be  several  times  stirred  before  the  tops  interfere  with  the 
operation,  but  never  after  they  come  into  blossom.  Enormous 
crops  have  been  procured  by  top  dressing  with  compost  earth, 
well  rotted  chip  manure,  etc.,  soon  after  the  plants  make  their 
appearance;  this  is  carried  to  the  field  and  spread  from  a  hght, 
one-horse  cart,  the  wheels  passing  between  the  rows;  but  such 
results  are  due  to  the  nicest  cultivation,  and  they  would  be  equally 
attained  by  placing  the  land  in  the  best  condition  before  planting. 
There  is  some  gain  to  the  crop,  when  the  buds  are  plucked  before 
they  come  to  blossom. 

Harvesting  and  Storing  should  not  be  commenced  until  the 
tops  are  mostly  dead,  as  the  tuber  has  not  arrived  at  full  maturity 
before  this  time.  They  may  then  be  thrown  out  of  the  hills  by 
a  plow,  horse  potato  digger,  or  some  hand  implement.  They 
ought  not  to  be  exposed  to  the  sun  for  any  length  of  time,  but 
may  dry  on  the  surface  in  a  cloudy  day,  or  be  gathered  into  small 
heaps  with  some  of  the  tops  spread  over  them,  until  freed  from 
the  surface  moisture,  when  they  may  be  stored.  Those  selected 
for  seed  should  be  placed  in  small  piles  in  the  field,  or  in  thin 
layers  in  a  cool,  dry  place  in  the  cellar  where  the  air  is  excluded, 
and  no  heating  or  injury  can  occur.  Such  as  are  intended  for 
consumption  may  be  put  in  dry  bins  or  barrels  in  the  store  room, 
covered  with  straw  and  dry  sand,  or  loose  earth  to  prevent  the 
circulation  of  air,  or  buried  in  the  field.  Where  convenient  of 
access,  a  hole  may  be  excavated  in  the  north  side  of  a  hill,  or  under 
a  shade  in  a  porous  soil.  When  first  stored,  the  potatoes  should 
be  covered  for  a  few  days  with  a  shght  thatch  of  straw,  so  arranged 


ROOTS. 


189 


as  to  shed  the  rain.  A  partial  sweating  or  heating  soon  takes  place, 
which  drives  off  some  of  the  moisture,  after  which  they  may  be 
lightly  covered  with  earth,  and  in  this  way  they  may  remain  till  the 
commencement  of  severe  frosts,  when  they  should  be  effectually 
^  protected  from  frost  and  rain  till  wanted  in  the  spring.  A  north- 
ern  exposure  or  shade  will  shield  them  from  any  injurious  effects 
of  the  sun  on  the  approach  of  warm  weather.  If  stored  on  level 
ground,  a  hole  should  be  excavated  for  their  reception,  from  one 
to  two  feet  in  depth  and  four  to  five  in  width,  and  of  any  length 
required.  The  potatoes  are  then  ridged  up  like  the  roof  of  a 
hofise,  thatched  and  covered  as  previously  described.  A  ditch 
lower  than  the  base  must  encircle  the  heap  when  the  soil  consists 
of  clay,  from  which  an  outlet  conducts  away  all  the  water,  as  any 
left  upon  them  will  inevitably  produce  decay. 

Diseases.— The  potato  has  long  been  subject  to  the  curl 
From  numerous  experiments  made  in  Scotland  to  avoid  this 
disease,  it  has  been  found  that  seed  from  potatoes  which  were 
gathered  before  fully  ripe,  gave  a  much  better  and  surer  crop. 
It  would  be  well  to  try  the  experiment  in  this  country,  where 
there  is  any  deficiency  of  product  from  want  of  fall  and  healthy 
development.    Potatoes  are  also  affected  by  the  scah  and  gruh, 
■  against  whose  attacks  there  is  no  remedy  unless  in  a  change  of 
seed  and  location.     The  rot  has  for  several  years  produced 
serious  and  increasing  injury  to  the  potato  crop;  in  1845,  and  in 
several  years  since,  almost  threatening  starvation  in  Ireland,  and 
causing  great  loss  and  suffering  in  other  countries.     Its  effects 
have  also  been  extensively  felt  in  the  United  States.  Numerous 
and  scientific  examinations  have  been  made  on  the  subject.  The 
proximate  cause  is  supposed  to  be  a  fungus,  but  what  are  the 
reasons  for  its  continued  rapid  extension,  and  what  may  be 
the  remedy  for  its  ravages  have  not  yet  been  satisfactorily 
ascertained. 

Preventives  of  Bot— Under  the  following  circumstances  rot  has 
not  appeared  when  adjoining  fields  have  been  destroyed  by  it. 
1.  By  using  unripe  seed,  or  seed  which  has  been  exposed  to  the 


190 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


sun,  light  and  air,  and  well  dried  for  ten  days  after  digging,  and 
afterwards  stored  in  a  dry  place  in  small  parcels  where  air  is 
excluded  till  the  moment  of  planting.  2.  By  the  use  of  lime, 
some  of  which  is  placed  in  the  hill  and  the  potatoes  dusted  with 
it,  and  also  from  the  use  of  charcoal  and  salt,  gypsum  or  other 
salts.  3.  By  the  absence  of  fresh  barn-yard  manure,  or  if  used, 
by.  adding  largely  of  lime  or  saline  manures.  4.  The  use  of 
fresh  sod,  which  has  long  been  untilled.  This  has  been  found 
more  efficacious  than  any  other  preventive,  although  it  has  occa- 
sionally failed.  The  sod  may  be  plowed  in  the  fall,  or  it  may  be 
left  till  late  in  May  or  early  in  June,  when  it  has  a  good  coating  of 
grass,  and  then  turned  under  flat,  and  furrowed  lightly  to  receive 
the  seed  without  disturbing  the  sod.  Or  they  may  be  planted  by 
using  a  sharpened  stake,  three  inches  in  diameter,  with  a  pin  or 
shoulder  ten  inches  from  the  bottom,  on  which  the  foot  may  be 
placed  for  sinking  the  holes.  These  should  be  made  between 
the  furrow  slices  at  the  proper  distance  for  drills,  and  a  single 
potato  placed  in  each,  which  may  be  covered  with  the  heeL 
5.  Sound,  early  varieties,  early  planted,  have  also  escaped. 

We  have  thus  secured  a  good  yield,  almost  wholly  free  from 
disease ;  and  even  those  affected  did  not  appear  to  communicate 
disease  to  others.  It  has  also  been  found  that  some  very  late 
planted  have  escaped  rot ;  and  if  it  be  an  epidemic,  it  may  be 
that  both  by  early  and  late  planting,  the  peculiar  stage  of  vege- 
tation when  the  fungus  appears,  is  in  a  great  measure  avoided. 
But  the  investigations  on  this  important  subject,  after  many 
years,  are  still  unsatisfactory,  and  nothing  has  thus  far  been 
ascertained,  which  can  be  justly  considered  as  having  determined 
principles  of  universal  appKcation ;  yet  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the 
zeal,  intelligence  and  general  interest  which  are  combined  for 
this  object  may  detect  what  has  hitherto  evaded  the  severest 
scrutiny  of  scientific  research. 

Arresting  the  disease  has  in  some  instances  been  successful,  by 
mowing  off  the  tops  when  they  are  found  defective.  This  prac- 
tice would  be  injurious  to  healthy  plants,  but  may  be  adopted, 


ROOTS. 


191 


like  that  of  cutting  grain  when  struck  by  rust,  if  it  will  secure 
even  a  part  of  the  crop.  When  disease  appears  in  such  as  are 
dug,  they  should  be  carefully  sorted  and  the  sound  ones  well 
dried,  then  placed  separately  in  layers  and  covered  with  ashes, 
burnt  clay,  or  fine  dry  mold,  which  act  as  absorbents  of  moisture 
and  prevent  contagion  from  such  as  may  be  imperceptibly  affected. 
They  may  also  be  cut  in  slices  and  dried,  or  crushed,  and  the 
farinaceous  part  extracted.  By  this  means  the  potato  will  be 
made  to  yield  nearly  all  its  nutriment.  It  is  found  that  this 
disease  affects  the  tissues  (the  nitrogenized  or  albuminous  part) 
of  the  potato  only ;  and  for  this  reason,  potatoes  which  have  not 
been  too  long  or  too  deeply  injured,  will  yield  nearly  their  full 
amount  of  fat  for  animals,  or  starch  for  the  manufacturer. 

Uses. — Besides  being  an  indispensable  vegetable,  potatoes 
are  boiled  and  mixed  with  flour  for  bread,  to  which  they  impart 
a  desirable  moisture  and  an  agreeable  flavor.    They  are  sliced, 
dried,  and  ground,  and  much  used  in  Europe  as  flour,  and  by  the 
confectioners.     They  are  also  manufactured  into  tapioca,  and 
when  nicely  prepared,  the  product  is  not  distinguishable  from 
that  of  the  manioc.    In  all  of  these  and  some  other  forms,  they 
enter  into  consumption  as  human  food.     They  have  been  also 
used  in  large  quantities  by  the  manufacturers  of  starch;  to  some 
extent  for  distiUing ;  and  in  a  less  degree  for  making  sugar.  The 
refuse  of  the  pulp  after  extracting  the  starch,  as  well  as  the 
liquor  drained  from  it,  is  used  for  cleansing  woolens  and  silks, 
which  it  effects  without  injury  to  the  color.     But  by  far  the 
greatest  use  of  potatoes  in  this  country,  before  they  were  affected 
by  the  rot,  was  for  stock  feeding.    They  are  eaten  with  avidity 
by  all  the  brute  creation,  either  cooked  or  raw.    For  cattle  and 
sheep,  they  are  equally  nutritious  in  either  condition.  For 
horses,  they  are  improved  by  steaming  or  baking.    Swine,  and 
most  poultry,  will  subsist  on  them  raw,  but  will  fatten  on  them 
only  when  cooked.    Their  good  effects  are  most  enhanced  by 
mixing  with  meal  when  they  are  hot,  which  partially  cooks  it. 


192 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTUUE. 


THE  SWEET  POTATO,  (CONVOLVULUS  BATATUS,) 

Is  a  root  of  very  general  growth  in  the  Southern,  and  is  much 
cultivated  in  the  Middle  sections  of  the  United  States,  and  for 
the  table  is  scarcely  surpassed  by  any  esculent.  It  is  also  greedily 
eaten,  and  with  great  advantage,  by  every  species  of  stock. 

We  are  indebted  to  an  excellent  article  on  this  subject,  from 
the  U.  S.  Ag.  Department  Report,  for  1865,  by  Mr.  J.  S.  Lip- 
pincott,  of  New  Jersey: 

"  Much  of  the  soil  of  the  district  of  New  Jersey  is  adapted  to 
the  growth  of  this  admirable  root.  No  other  Northern  State 
produces  the  sweet  potato  so  abundantly  or  in  as  great  perfection. 
In  1862,  the  Agricultural  Department  estimated  the  growth  of 
the  sweet  potato  in  New  Jersey,  at  1,634,832  bushels,  valued  at 
$1,226,126.  The  crop  of  1862,  thus  estimated,  surpassed  all 
other  Northern  and  Western  States,  in  aggregate  product.  Most 
of  the  Southern  States  greatly  surpass  New  Jersey,  in  the  amount 
of  product.  North  Carolina  and  Georgia  having  produced,  in  1859, 
more  than  6,000,000  bushels  each,  Alabama  5,000,000,  sundry 
others  from  two  to  four  milHons  of  bushels,  where  it  appears  to 
be  the  great  staple  vegetable  product.  Though  adapted  to  a 
warmer  climate,  it  attains  in  our  State,  in  favorable  seasons,  a 
degree  of  perfection  which  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired.  Such  a 
season  was  that  of  1864,  which  was  remarkable  for  its  product,  . 
both  in  quantity  and  quality,  and  for  remunerative  prices. 

"The  return  of  this  crop  varies  from  100,  to  200  baskets  and 
upwards  per  acre,  the  latter  being  an  exceedingly  favorable  yield. 
From  six  and  a  half  acres  there  were  taken  in  1864,  1,700  baskets, 
which  sold  for  $1,700.  Upon  three  acres  800  baskets  (or  500 
bushels)  were  raised,  which  sold  for  $1,000.  On  two  acres  600 
baskets  (or  185  bushels  per  acre,)  was  produced  in  1864,  which 
yielded  per  acre,  about  $300  gross  revenue.  The  above  is  not, 
however,  a  fair  exhibit  of  regular  annual  returns  for  the  anxious 
care,  the  labor  and  expense,  which  is  sometimes  poorly  remuner- 
ated by  an  indifferent  crop  and  diminished  prices. 


ROOTS. 


193 


A  successful  grower  has  favored  us  with  his  method  of  culture, 
which  we  cannot  do  better  than  give  entire,  for  the  instruction  of 
those  who  may  wish  to  cultivate  this  choicest  of  esculent  roots. 
Moderately  good  sweet  potatoes  may  be  raised  further  north  than 
New  Jersey,  on  a  warm  soil,  and  large  crops  have  been  grown  in 
Northern  Pennsylvania,  where  we  would  not  have  deemed  success 
could  be  obtained.  The  .product  was  not,  however,  commended  to 
our  taste  by  that  flavor  and  dryness,  which  result  from  growth  upon 
a  properly  selected  soil,  under  a  warmer  sky.  The  sweet  potato 
requires  a  sandy  soil  or  a  sandy  loam.  Land  is  generally  chosen 
which  has  been  in  corn  or  a  vegetable  crop  the  previous  year, 
though  it  is  a  common .  practice  to  plant  the  same  ground  with 
sweet  potatoes,  season  after  season.  In  the  latter  they  seem  to 
grow  as  well  as  they  do  in  freshly  chosen  ground. 

"About  the  middle  of  April,  the  preparation  of  the  hot-beds 
for  starting  the  sweet  potato,  for  the  production  of  sprouts,  is 
commenced.  Having  been  plowed  as  for  any  ordinary  crop,  but 
not  deeply,  the  ground  is  furrowed  out  with  a  one  horse  plow,  three 
feet  each  way  if  to  be  planted  in  hills,  over  three  and  a  half  feet 
apart  if  in  rows,  the  plow  rimning  twice  in  the  furrow.  A  forkful! 
of  horse  stable  manure  is  then,  if  for  hills,  placed  at  each  intersec- 
tion of  the  furrows,  and  well  covered  by  hand  with  a  hoe.  If  to 
be  grown  in  rows,  the  manure  is  scattered  evenly  along  the  row, 
and  covered  by  turning  two  good  furrows  directly  upon  it.  The 
field  is  then  ready  to  receive  the  plants.  The  manure  should  be 
appHed  freely,  and  be  of  good  quality.  It  liliould  have  been  well 
forked  over  until  fine  and  mellow,  to  avoid  as  much  as  possible, 
increasing  the  evil  effects  of  drought,  by  presenting  to  the  plants 
their  food  in  lumps,  which  readily  become  dry  and  unavailable, 
and  which,  if  once  in  that  condition,  will  certainly  remain  so 
throughout  the  season.  When  grown  in  rows  a  larger  number 
of  plants  are  required  than  when  grown  in  hills. 

"  Both  methods  have  their  advocates,  but  if  the  sprouts  are 

placed  from  twenty  inches  to  two  feet  apart  in  the  row,  abetter  crop 

is  generally  obtained  for  the  same  amount  of  labor  and  money 
9 


194 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


expended.  The  young  sprouts  or  plants  are  grown  from  ^seed 
potatoes,'  selected  from  the  previous  year's  crop,  which  should  be 
of  middle  size,  and  of  short,  compact  shape.  These  are  placed  in 
hot-beds,  made  up  from  about  the  first  to  the  middle  of  April,  in 
the  ordinary  way.  The  manure,  fresh  from  the  horse  stable, 
having  been  evenly  shaken  into  the  bed  or  fi-ame  to  the  depth  of 
twelve  or  eighteen  inches,  is  pressed  down  by  the  weight  of  the 
laborer  upon  a  board  laid  thereon.  The  board  is  removed,  and 
the  whole  evenly  covered  with  about  three  inches  of  rather  dry 
sand.  Upon  this  the  ^  seed  potatoes '  are  carefully  placed,  close 
together,  though  not  actually  touching,  and  are  then  covered  with 
about  three  inches  of  good  sand  or  loam.  Great  care  is  observed 
that  the  right  degrees  of  heat  and  moisture  shall  be  maintained. 
If  the  heat  become  too  great  it  may  be  checked  by  piercing 
through  the  bed  into  the  manure  with  a  rake  handle,  thus  allow- 
ing the  excess  of  heat  to  escape.  Moisture  must  be  regulated  by 
the  watering  pot,  which  should  be  used  on  clear  days  only,  and 
about  noon.  If  the  heat  or  moisture  become  excessive,  the  pota- 
toes will  rot ;  deficient  heat  with  moisture  may  cause  the  ^  black 
rot.'  If  the  plants  become  infected  with  the  latter,  it  will  prove 
worse  than  useless  to  endeavor  to  use  them.  Heat  and  dryness 
kill  the  sprouts,  or  prevent  their  growth ;  and  even  when  moder- 
ate dryness  is  combined  with  other  influences  favorable  to  growth, 
though  sprouts  apparently  good  may  be  produced,  they  will  not 
possess  well  developed  fibrous  roots. 

Experience  alon€»can  teach  that  wisdom  in  minutiae  which 
will  command  certain  success.  •  The  bed  should  be  exposed  to  the 
sunshine  on  every  clear  day,  and  covered  with  hay  or  straw  at 
night,  and  in  rainy  weather  protected  from  excess  of  moisture  by 
a  covering  of  boards.  The  sprouts  will  be  ready  for  transplant- 
ing in  about  a  month,  and  planting  commences  from  the  fifteenth 
to  twenty-second  of  May,  and  continues  from  two  to  four  weeks. 
When  the  time  for  removal  has  nearly  arrived,  the  plants  should 
be  exposed  to  the  open  air,  to  harden  them  for  the  field.  The 
sprouts  are  drawn  by  taking  hold  of  but  one  at  a  time,  and  gently 


ROOTS. 


195 


extracting  it  in  order  to  avoid  disturbing  the  mother  potato,  from 
which,  if  undisturbed,  a  second  crop  may  be  obtained.  A  bushel 
of  good  seed,  properly  managed,  will  produce  1,200  or  1,500 
sprouts  at  the  first  pulhng,  and  three-fourths  as  many  at  the 
second.  Those  obtained  later  are  often  as  good  as  the  earlier 
growth. 

*'Good,  strong,  stocky  plants  having  been  obtained,  they  are 
rapidly  and  expertly  transferred  to  the  soil,  the  operator  using  no 
implement  but  his  bare  hand.  Dashing  aside  the  crown  of  the 
hill  or  ridge,  he  thrusts  his  open  hand  into  the  yielding  sand,  and 
with  the  other  inserts  the  plant,  covers  and  compresses  it,  and  if 
the  ground  is  too  dry,  waters  it.  In  a  week  or  two  the  field 
must  be  examined  and  re-planted  wherever  cut  worms  or  other 
insect  larvae  may  have  destroyed  the  first  setting.  Clean  culture, 
with  the  hand  hoe  or  iron  garden  rake  and  horse  cultivator,  is 
now  required  until  the  vines  have  covered  the  ground.  About 
the  middle  of  August  the  ground  should  be  ^  tended  ^  for  the  last 
time,  by  plowing  to  the  rows  or  ridges,  and  cleaning  up  the  balks. 
To  perform  this  thoroughly,  the  vines  must  be  loosened  from  the 
soil  to  which  they  have  attached  themselves  by  small  roots  along 
the  main  stem,  and  turned  over  or  out  of  the  way  by  means  of 
sticks  or  by  the  hand.  Before  gathering  the  crop,  the  vines  are 
cut  off  close  to  the  hill  with  a  sharp  hoe.  The  potatoes  are  then 
ploughed  out  and  thrown  into  rows  to  dry,  when  they  are  readily 
sorted  for  market.  • 

"To  fit  them  for  preservation  they  must  be  lifted  before  the 
weather  indicates  a  degree  of  cold  sufficient  to  freeze  the  ground,  or, 
in  this  latitude,  before  the  twenty-fifth  of  October.  Those  intended 
for  winter  storage  should  be  gathered  before  the  middle  of  Octo- 
ber, put  up  in  barrels  or  shallow  boxes,  and  placed  in  a  dry,  warm 
situation.  When  placed  in  barrels  in  the  open  field,  and  carefiilly 
handled,  they  will  be  more  readily  preserved  during  winter,  other 
circumstances  being  favorable — slight  bruising  from  rough  carriage 
proving  injurious  to  them,  if  designed  for  winter  use.  When 
large  quantities  are  reserved  for  spring  sales,  houses  are  erected 


196 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


expressly  for  their  preservation.  These  are  generally  two  stories 
high,  built  of  wood,  and  so  arranged  that  the  potatoes  may  be 
stored  therein,  in  boxes  about  two  feet  deep,  placed  in  tiers,  with 
spaces  of  a  few  inches  between  for  ventilation,  and  extending 
from  side  to  side  of  the  house  to  within  a  foot  of  the  weather 
boarding.  The  source  of  heat  is  a  fire  in  the  cellar,  from  which 
the  warmth  is  caused  to  circulate  equally  and  freely  throughout 
the  building.  Thus  arranged  and  carefully  tended,  maintaining 
a  nearly  uniform  moderate  heat,  sweet  potatoes  may  be  preserved 
until  late  in  the  following  spring.  No  chaff,  shavings,  or  other 
material  is  needed;  careful  packing  and  handling,  and  uniform 
moderate  heat,  being  the  only  requisites  for  the  attainment  of 
perfect  success  in  the  preservation,  for  the  entire  season,  of  this 
admirable  root." 

The  foregoing  modes  of  culture,  etc.,  apply  to  the  latitude  oi 
New  Jersey,  and  must,  of  course,  be  altered,  as  to  the  seasons,  in 
other  States  and  sections  of  the  country. 

THE  TURNIP,  (bRASSIOA  RAPA.) 

The  common  flat  English  turnip  was  introduced  into  this 
country  with  our  English  ancestry,  and  has  ever  since  been  an 
object  of  cultivation.  When  boiled,  it  is  an  agreeable  vegetable 
for  the  table.  Its  principal  value,  however,  is  food  for  cattle  and 
sheep,  by  which  it  is  eaten  uncooked.  Its  comparative  nutritive 
properties  are  small,  but  Hie  great  bulk  which  can  be  raised  on  a 
given  piece  of  ground,  and  the  facility  and  economy  of  cultiva- 
tion, have  always  rendered  it  a  favorite  with  such  farmers  as 
have  soil  and  stock  adapted  to  its  profitable  production  and  use. 

A  GOOD  SOIL  for  it  is  a  fertile  sand  or  well  drained  loam.  Any 
soil  adapted  to  Indian  corn  will  produce  good  turnips.  But  it  is 
only  on  new  land  or  freshly  turned  sod,  that  they  are  most  suc- 
cessful. An  untilled  virgin  earth,  with  the  rich  dressing  of  ashes 
left  after  the  recent  burning  of  accumulated  vegetable  matter, 
and  free  from  weeds  and  insects,  is  the  surest  and  most  productive 
for  a  turnip  crop.    Such  land  needs  no  manure.    For  a  sward 


ROOTS. 


197 


ground,  or  clover  lay,  there  should  be  a  heavy  dressing  of  fresh, 
unfermented  manure  before  plowing. 

Cultivation.— Turnips  are  sown  from  the  fifteenth  of  June 
to  the  first  of  August.    The  first  give  a  greater  yield;  the  last 
generally  a  sounder  root  and  capable  of  longer  preservation. 
The  ground  should  be  plowed  and  harrowed  immediately  before 
sowing,  as  the  moisture  insures  rapid  germination  of  the  seed, 
which  is  of  great  importance  to  get  it  beyond  the  reach  of 
insects  as  soon  as  possible.    This  may  be  sown  broadcast,  at  the 
rate  of  one  or  two  pounds  per  acre,  and  hghtly  harrowed  and 
rolled;  or  it  is  better  to  be  sown  in  drills,  when  a  less  quantity 
of  seed  will  suffilce.    A  turnip  drill  will  speedily  accomplish  the 
furrowing,  sowing,  covering  and  rolling,  at  a  single  operation. 
The  crop  will  be  materially  assisted  by  a  top  dressing  of  lime, 
ashes  and  plaster,  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  or  twenty  bushels  of  the 
first,  half  the  quantity  of  the  second,  and  three  or  four  bushels 
of  the  last,  per  acre     When  the  plants  show  themselves,  and 
the  leaves  are  partially  expanded,  the  cultivator  or  hoe  may 
be  freely  used,  stirring  the  ground  well  and  exterminating  all 
weeds. 

RuTA-BAGA  OR  SwEDES  TuRNiP.— The  introduction  of  this  is 
comparatively  recent,  and  it  proves  to  be  more  worthy  of  atten- 
tion than  the  Enghsh  or  white  turnip.  It  will  bear  a  heavier 
soil,  yield  as  well,  give  a  richer  root,  and  it  has  the  great 
advantage  of  keeping  longer  in  good  condition,  thus  prolonging 
the  wint'er  food  of  cattle  when  they  are  most  in  need  of  it. 

Cultivation. — It  is  usually  planted  after  wheat  or  corn,  but 
if  a  fresh  virgin  soil  or  old  pasture  sod  is  chosen,  it  will  mate- 
rially lessen  its  habihty  to  insects  and  other  enemies.  It  is 
generally  sown  in  drills,  about  two  feet  apart,  and  on  heavy  lands 
these  should  be  shghtly  ridged.  The  plants  must  be  successively 
thinned  to  prevent  interfering  with  such  as  are  intended  to  ma- 
ture, but  enough  should  remain  to  provide  for  casualties.  Where 
there  is  a  deficiency,  they  may  be  supplied  by  transplanting  during 
showery  weather.     They  should  be  left  eight  to  twelve  inches 


198 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


apart  in  the  drills,  according  to  the  richness  of  the  soil.  The 
Swede  turnip  is  a  gross  feeder,  and  requires  either  a  rich  soil  or 
heavy  manuring,  though  the  use  of  fresh  manures  has  been  sup- 
posed to  facilitate  the  multiplication  of  enemies.  Bones  ground 
and  drilled  in  with  the  seed,  or  a  dressing  of  lime,  ashes,  gypsum, 
and  salt,  are  the  best  applications  that  can  be  made.  The  Swede 
should  be  sown  from  about  the  twentieth  of  May  to  the  fifteenth 
June,  earlier  than  the  English  turnip,  as  it  takes  longer  to  mature, 
and  two  or  three  weeks  more  of  growth  frequently  adds  largely 
to  the  product.  An  early  sowing  also  gives  time  to  raise 
another  crop  in  case  of  failure  of  the  first. 

Enemies. — The  turnip  is  exposed  to  numerous  depredators, 
of  which  the  turnip  flea-beetle  is  the  most  inveterate.  It  attacks 
the  plant  as  soon  as  the  first  leaves  expand,  and  often  destroys  ^ 
two  or  three  successive  sowings.  The  black  caterpillar,  slugs, 
wire-worms,  and  numerous  other  insects,  grubs,  and  aphides, 
prey  upon  and  greatly  diminish  the  crop. 

Remedies  have  been  tried  to  an  almost  indefinite  extent,  but 
none  hitherto  with  more  than  very  partial  success.  Liberal 
sowing  and  rapid  growth  best  insures  the  plant  from  injury,  and 
to  effect  this  the  seed  should  be  plentifully  sown,  and  if  possible, 
when  the  ground  is  moist,  and  always  in  a  rich  soil.  The  seed 
should  be  steeped  in  some  preparation  which  experience  has 
shown  will  the  most  quickly  develop  the  germ.  Solutions  of  the 
nitrates  or  sulphates,  urine,  soot-water,  liquid  guano,  currier's 
oil,  etc.,  impregnate  the  first  leaves  with  substances  distastefiil  to 
their  early  enemies,  and  thus  a  short  respite  from  their  attacks 
will  be  secured.  Gypsum,  ashes,  bone  dust,  and  poudrette, 
drilled  in  with  the  seed  are  excellent  forcers  for  the  young  roots. 
Charcoal  dust  apphed  in  the  same  way  has  been  found  to  increase 
the  early  growth  from  four  to  ten  fold.  When  the  fly,  and  bug, 
etc.,  is  discovered,  the  application  of  lime,  ashes,  or  soot,  or  all 
combined,  should  be  made  upon  the  leaves  while  the  dew  or  a 
slight  moisture  is  on  them.  This  leads  the  young  plant  along, 
and  kills  such  enemies  as  it  reaches.     Urine,  diluted  sulphuric 


ROOTS. 


199 


acid,  (oil  of  vitriol,)  and  other  liquid  manures  wiU  have  the  same 
effect.  Ducks,  chickens,  and  young  turkeys,  and  birds,  will 
devour  innumerable  quantities,  and  their  presence  should  always 
be  encouraged  not  only  on  this  but  on  most  of  the  fields. 
Dragging  the  surface  with  fine,  light  brush,  will  lessen  the  slugs 
and  insects.  The  ground  should  be  plowed  just  before  winter 
sets  in,  which  exposes  the  worms  and  the  larvae  of  insects  to  the 
frost,  when  they  are  unable  to  work  themselves  into  a  place  of 
safety.  The  seed  should  not  be  planted  on  ground  before  occu- 
pied or  near  any  of  the  order  of  plants  crxicifercB,  cabbage,  radish, 
mustard,  charlock,  and  water  cress,  as  they  all  afi'ord  food  for 
the  enemies  of  turnips,  and  thereby  tend  to  their  multipHcation. 

HARVESTiNa  may  be  deferred  till  the  approach  of  cold 
weather,  and  in  those  sections  of  the  country  not  affected  by 
severe  frosts,  when  on  dry  soils,  they  may  be  allowed  to  winter 
on  the  field.  Otherwise  they  should  be  secured  during  the  good 
autumnal  weather.  This  is  accomphshed  most  expeditiously 
.with  a  root  hook,  which  is  made  with  two  iron  prongs  attached 
to  a  hoe  handle.  The  use  of  a  bill  hook  or  sharp  knife,  will 
enable  the  operator  to  lop  off  the  leaves  with  a  single  blow,  when 
they  are  thrown  into  convenient  piles  and  afterwards  collected 
for  storage. 

The  storing  may  be  in  cellars  or  in  heaps,  similar  to  potatoes, 
but  in  a  cooler  temperature,  as  slight  heat  injures  them,  while 
frost  does  not.  If  stored  in  heaps,  one  or  more  holes  should  be 
lefli  at  the  top,  which  may  be  partially  stopped  by  a  wisp  of  hay 
or  straw,  to  allow  the  escape  of  the  gases  which  are  generated. 

The  feeding  of  ruta-bagas  to  cattle  and  sheep,  is  always  in 
their  uncooked  state.  They  are  better  steamed  or  boiled  for  swine, 
but  their  food  should  be  sought  from  the  more  fattening  products 
of  the  farm.  In  moderate  quantity  they  may  be  given  to  horses, 
but  they  cannot  be  rehed  upon  for  them,  as  they  are  too  bulky  for 
working  animals.  Their  place  is  much  better  suppHed  for  horses 
by  the  carrot  or  potato.  Their  true  value  is  as  food  for  store  and 
fattening  cattle,  milk  cows  and  sheep,  as  they  furnish  a  salutary 


200 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


change  from  dry  hay,  being  nearly  equivalent  as  a  fodder  to  green 
summer  food.  They  should  be  washed  before  feeding  if  too  much 
dirt  adheres  to  them,  but  if  grown  on  a  light  soil,  the  tap  roots 
lopped  off  and  otherwise  properly  secured,  they  will  not  require 
it.  They  may  be  sliced  with  a  heavy  knife,  or  more  summarily 
cut  up  while  lying  on  the  barn  floor,  with  a.  sharp  spade,  or  root 
slicer,  which  is  made  with  a  socket  handle  and  two  blades  cross- 
ing each  other  in  the  center  at  right  angles,  or  by  some  of  the 
numerous  improved  cutting  machines,  which  are  much  better. 
"With  an  abundance  of  turnips  and  a  small  supply  of  straw,  hay 
may  be  entirely  dispensed  with  for  cattle  and  sheep.  Many  of 
the  best  English  breeds  are  kept  exclusively  on  turnips  with  a 
little  straw  till  ready  for  the  shambles. 

The  varieties  of  turnips  are  numerous.  After  selecting  such 
as  will  give  the  largest  crop  of  the  most  nutritious  roots,  the  next 
object  in  the  choice  of  particular  varieties  should  be  to  adapt  them 
to  the  most  economical  use.  Some  will  keep  much  longer  than 
others,  and  if  wanted  to  feed  late  in  the  season  it  may  be  neces- 
sary to  take  a  variety  intrinsically  less  valuable  than  another 
which  must  be  earher  consumed.  The  English  turnip  should  be 
first  fed  as  it  soonest  wilts  and  becomes  pithy,  then  follow  with 
the  others  according  to  their  order  of  maturity  and  decay.  The 
leaves  yield  good  forage,  and  if  unmixed  with  earth  may  be  fed 
dry  or  green  to  cattle. 

The  value  of  turnips  to  this  country,  is  trifling  in  comparison 
with  that  of  many  parts  of  Europe.  In  Great  Britain  alone,  this 
value  probably  exceeds  one  hundred  millions  of  dollars  annually. 
But  its  culture  here  is  less  desirable,  as  our  dryer  climate  and  early 
and  severe  winters  are  not  as  well  adapted  to  its  production  and 
economical  preservation  and  feeding  as  those  of  England,  and  its 
numerous  enemies  render  it  an  uncertain  crop.  These  objections 
are  increased  by  the  important  fact,  that  it  enters  into  competition 
with  our  Indian  corn,  which,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  always 
gives  a  certain  and  highly  remunerating  return.  It  may  some- 
times, however,  take  the  place  of  corn,  with  advantage,  and  the 


ROOTS. 


201 


turnip  or  some  other  roots  should  always  occupy  a  conspicuous 
place  in  the  change  of  winter  food  for  cattle  and  sheep. 

Turnips  are  cold  food,  and  not  recommended  to  be  fed  during 
very  severe  winter  weather.  We  have  had  calves  and  other 
young  stock  severely  scoured  by  them.  The  best  use  for  turnips 
is  for  lambing  ewes  before  grass  comes. 

THE  CARROT,  (dAUCUS  CAROTA,) 

Is  one  of  our  most  valuable  roots.  It  is  a  hardy,  easy  cultivated 
plant,  and  grows  in  almost  every  soil,  and  is  next  to  the  potato 
in  its  nutritive  properties. 

The  soil  which  best  suits  it  is  a  fertile  sand  or  Hght  loam,  but 
it  will  grow  on  such  as  are  more  tenacious,  if  well  drained,  and 
deeply  worked.  The  success  of  this  and  the  parsnip  depends 
much  on  the  depth  to  which  their  roots  can  reach.  Deep  spading 
or  subsoil  plowing  is,  therefore,  indispensable  to  secure  large  crops, 
and  nearly  all  kinds  of  manure  are  equally  suited  for  their  food, 
if  well  rotted.    The  ground  should  be  thoroughly  pulverized. 

The  varieties  chiefly  used  for  field  culture,  are  the  long  red, 
the  orange,  and  white  Belgian.  The  last,  under  favorable  circum- 
stances, attains  huge  dimensions,  and  from  its  roots  growing  high 
out  of  the  ground,  it  is  supposed  to  draw  more  of  its  nourishment 
from  the  air,  and  to  exhaust  the  ground  less,  while  it  is  of  course, 
more  easily  harvested.  But  it  is  considerably  below  the  others 
in  comparative  value. 

Planting. — The  carrot  should  be  sown  in  drills,  sixteen  to 
twenty  inches  apart,  when  the  ground  has  become  warm  and 
dry.  The  seed  is  best  prepared  by  mixing  with  fine  mold  or 
poudrette,  and  stirring  them  well  together  to  break  off  the  fine 
beards ;  then  sprinkle  with  water  and  allow  it  to  remain  in  a 
warm  place,  and  occasionally  turn  it  to  produce  equal  develop- 
ment in  the  seed.  It  may  remain  ten  or  fifteen  days  before  sow- 
ing, till  nearly  readj  to  sprout.  It  then  readily  germinates,  and 
does  not  allow  the  weeds  to  get  the  start.  The  frequent  use  of 
the  cultivator  and  entire  cleanliness  from  weeds  is  all  that  is 
9^ 


202 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


necessary  to  insure  a  crop,  unless  it  be  convenient  to  give  it  a  top 
dressing  of  liquid  manure,  which  the  Flemings  always  do,  and  which 
no  crop  better  repays.  Two  pounds  of  good  seed  will  sow  an  acre. 
Any  deficiency  of  plants  may  be  suppHed  by  transplanting  in 
moist  weather.  Six  inches  is  near  enough  for  the  smaller  kind 
to  stand,  and  eight  for  the  larger.  They  are  subject  to  few  dis- 
eases or  enemies,  excepting  such  as  can  be  avoided  by  proper 
selection  of  soil  and  careful  tillage. 

The  harvesting  may  be  facilitated  by  running  a  plow  on  one 
side  of  the  rows,  when  the  roots  are  easily  removed  by  hand. 
The  tops  are  then  cut  and  the  surface  moisture  from  the  roots 
dried,  when  they  may  be  stored  like  turnips  and  potatoes.  They 
ought  to  be  kept  at  as  low  a  temperature  as  possible  above  the 
freezing  point.  On  the  approach  of  warm  weather  they  will 
sprout  early  if  left  in  heaps,  and  if  important  to  preserve  them 
longer,  the  crown  should  be  cut  off  and  the  roots  spread  in  a 
cool,  dry  place. 

Uses. — Carrots  are  chiefly  grown  for  domestic  stock.  Horses 
thrive  remarkably  on  them,  and  some  farmers  feed  them  as  a 
substitute  for  oats.  But  their  intrinsic  value  in  weight,  is  less, 
in  the  proportion  of  about  five  to  one.  They  are  good  for  work- 
ing cattle  and  unsurpassed  for  milk  cows,  producing  a  great  flow 
of  milk  and  a  rich  yellow  cream.  Sheep  and  swine  greedily 
devour  them,  and  soon  fatten  if  plentifully  supplied  with  them. 
The  Dutch  grate  them,  and  with  sugar  and  salt,  make  a  pickle 
for  their  choicest  table  butter.  They  are  also  employed  in  dis- 
tilling. The  average  yield  on  good  land  may  be  estimated  at 
about  three  hundred  bushels  of  the  smaller,  and  four  hundred  and 
fifty  of  the  Belgian  or  white,  per  acre,  but  with  extra  cultivation, 
one  thousand  bushels  of  the  last  have  been  raised. 

THE  PARSNIP,  (PASTINACA  SATIVA,) 

Is  cultivated  as  a  field  crop,  and  is  of  nearly  equal  nutritious 
value  with  the  carrot.  The  soil  may  be  heavier  for  parsnips 
than  for  carrots,  and  they  will  even  thrive  on  a  strong  clay,  if 


ROOTS. 


203 


rich,  well  pulverized,  and  dry.  Large  crops  can  only  be  obtained 
on  deep,  rich  ground,  well  pulverized.  They  should  be  sown 
early,  as  frosts  do  not  affect  them,  and  they  require  a  long  time 
to  come  to  maturity.  Drilling  at  a  distance  of  twenty  inches 
apart,  is  the  proper  mode  of  planting,  and  they  should  be  thinned 
to  a  space  of  six  or  eight  inches.  It  requires  four  or  five  pounds 
of  seed  per  acre,  which  must  be  of  the  previous  year's  growth, 
as  older  does  not  readily  vegetate.  No  preparation  of  the  seed 
is  necessary.  The  subsequent  cultivation  is  similar  to  that  of 
carrots,  and  they  will  generally  yield  more  under  similar  cir- 
cumstances of  soil  and  tillage.  They  are  httle  subject  to  disease 
or  enemies. 

The  gatherino  should  be  deferred  till  the  frost  leaves  the 
ground  in  spring,  unless  wanted  for  winter's  use,  as  they  keep 
best  in  the  ground,  where  they  are  uninjured  by  the  heaviest 
frost.  But  particular  care  should  be  observed  in  allowing  no 
standing  water  on  them,  or  they  will  rot.  When  taken  up  in 
the  fall,  the  roots  should  neither  be  trimmed  nor  broken,  nor 
should  the  tops  be  cut  too  near  the  root.  They  should  be  stored 
out  of  doors,  in  a  dry  place,  and  covered  carefully  with  earth, 
so  that  they  can  thoroughly  freeze,  as  exposure  to  air,  or  even 
moderate  heat,  wilts  them. 

XJsES. — The  parsnip  is  one  of  our  most  delicious  table  veg- 
etables. It  is  an  excellent  food  for  swine,  either  raw  or  cooked, 
and  for  cattle,  milk  cows,  and  sheep,  it  is  highly  prized.  Qualey 
says,  "it  is  not  as  valuable  for  horses,  for  though  it  produces  fat 
and  a  fine  appearance,  it  causes  them  to  sweat  profiisely,  and  if 
eaten  when  the  shoot  starts  in  the  spring,  it  produces  inflamma- 
tion in  the  eyes,  and  epiphora,  or  weeping."  The  leaves  of  both 
carrots  and  parsnips  are  good  for  cattle,  green  or  dried.  Gerarde, 
who  wrote  in  1596,  says,  "an  excellent  bread  was  made  from 
them  in  his  time."  They  have  also,  like  the  carrot,  been  used 
for  distillation,  and  a«e  said  to  afford  a  very  good  vinous  beverage. 
The  hest.  vardety  for  field  culture  is  the  large  Jersey. 


204 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


THE  BEET,  (bETA.) 

There  are  two  varieties  of  the  beet  in  general  use  for  the 
field:  the  sugar  beet  and  mangel-wurzel,  both  of  which  have 
several  sub-varieties.  They  are  of  various  colors,  red,  pink, 
yellow,  white  or  mottled,  but  color  does  not  seem  to  affect  their 
quahty.  The  conditions  under  which  they  grow,  are  similar. 
Beets  do  well  in  any  soil  of  sufficient  depth  and  fertihty,  but  they 
are  perhaps  most  partial  to  a  strong  loam.  If  well  tilled,  they 
will  produce  large  crops  on  a  tenacious  clay.  We  have  raised 
at  the  rate  of  eight  hundred  bushels  to  the  acre,  on  a  stiff  clay, 
which  had  been  well  supplied  with  unfermented  manure.  The 
soil  cannot  be  made  too  rich.  For  such  as  are  adhesive,  fresh 
or  unfermented  manures  are  much  the  best. 

The  planting  should  be  in  drills  twenty  to  twenty-four 
inches  asunder,  at  the  rate  of  four  to  six  pounds  of  seed  per  acre, 
buried  not  over  one  inch  deep.  The  seed  should  be  early  planted, 
or  as  soon  as  vegetation  will  proceed  rapidly,  but  must  first  be 
soaked  by  pouring  soft  scalding  water  on  it,  allowing  it  to  cool  to 
blood  heat,  and  remain  for  three  or  four  days,  then  roll  in  plaster 
and  drill  it  in.  The  husk,  or  outer  covering  of  the  seed,  is  thick 
and  impervious  to  moisture,  and  without  a  thorough,  previous 
saturation,  will  not  readily  germinate. 

The  culture  is  similar  to  that  of  carrots  and  parsnips.  They 
should  be  thinned  to  a  distance  of  about  eight  inches  to  a  foot, 
according  to  the  kind,  and  all  vacancies  filled  up  with  strong, 
thrifty  plants.  It  is  better  to  sow  thick  enough  to  avoid  the 
necessity  of  transplanting,  for  in  addition  to  the  time  and  expense 
of  this  operation,  it  puts  them  back  some  days  in  their  growth, 
although  such  plants  will  thrive  as  well  as  those  which  grow 
in  their  ranks  from  the  seed.  The  above  distances  are  suit- 
able for  the  sugar  beet;  the  mangel-wurzel  attains  a  larger 
size,  and  the  spaces  may  be  increased  to«t  foot  apart.  The 
practice  of  plucking  off  the  leaves  for  cattle  feeding,  is  objection- 
able, as  it  materially  interferes  with  the  growth  of  the  plants. 


ROOTS. 


205 


Scarcely  any  disease  or  enemy  troubles  it,  except  when  young. 
It  is  then  sometimes,  though  rarely,  attacked  by  grubs  or  small 
insects. 

Harvesting  may  be  commenced  soon  after  the  first  leaves 
turn  yellow,  and  before  the  frosts  have  injured  them.  The 
tops  must  not  be  too  closely  trimmed,  nor  the  crown  of  the  roots 
or  its  fibrous  prongs  cut  from  such  as  are  destined  for  late  keep- 
ing. If  intended  for  early  winter  use,  they  may  be  abridged  a 
trifle,  and  after  the  surface  is  dry,  stored  like  other  roots.  They 
do  not  need  as  effectual  protection  as  potatoes,  for  if  the  frost 
touches  them  under  a  covering  of  earth,  it  will  gradually  be 
withdrawn  on  the  approach  of  warm  weather,  and  leave  the 
roots  uninjured ;  but  they  will  not  keep  as  long  as  if  untouched 
by  the  frost.  A  slight  opening  for  the  escape  of  the  gas,  as  with 
the  other  roots,  should  be  left  at  the  top  and  partially  guarded 
with  straw. 

Uses. — The  beet  is  a  universal  favorite  for  the  table  and  of 
great  value  for  stock.  Domestic  animals  never  tire  of  it,  and 
swine  prefer  it  to  any  other  root  excepting  the  parsnip.  "We 
have  often  kept  swine  in  the  best  condition,  through  the  winter, 
on  no  other  food  than  the  raw  sugar  beet.  They  possess  addi- 
tional merit  from  their  capability  of  resisting  decay  longer  than 
the  turnip,  and  frequently  beyond  the  carrot  and  parsnip.  They 
will  be  solid,  fresh,  and  juicy,  late  in  the  spring  if  properly  stored, 
and  at  a  time,  too,  when  they  are  most  wanted  for  aihng  sheep 
or  cattle,  milk  cows,  or  ewes,  or  for  contributing  to  the  support 
and  health  of  any  of  the  ordinary  stock.  "When  fed  to  fattening 
animals,  they  should  follow  and  never  precede  the  turnip.  It  h^s 
been  found  that  such  animals  continue  steadily  to  advance  in  flesh 
after  being  carried  to  a  certain  point  with  turnips,  if  shifted  on 
to  the  beet,  but  in  repeated  instances  they  have  fallen  back  if 
changed  from  beets  to  turnips.  Davy  found  in  1,000  parts,  the 
following  quantity  of  nutritive  or  soluble  matter:  /White,  or 
English  turnips,  42;  Swede,  64;  mangel-wurzel,  136;  sugar 
beet,  146.    This  order  of  nutritive  quality  is  followed  by  Bous- 


206 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


singault,  though  he  places  the  field  beet  and  Swede  turnip  at 
nearly  the  same  point.  Einhof  and  Thaer,  on  the  contrary, 
place  the  Swede  before  mangel-wurzel.  But  in  feeding  to  ani- 
mals, unless  for  an  occasional  change,  the  roots  should  be  given 
out  in  the  order  named.  The  sugar  beet  is  seen  to  be  more 
nutritious  than  the  mangel-wurzel ;  it  is  equally  hardy  and  pro- 
ductive, and  more  palatable  to  stock,  and  of  course  is  to  be 
preferred  for  raising.  The  former  has  been  largely  cultivated  in 
France  and  Germany,  for  making  into  sugar,  where  it  has  been 
entirely  successful,  because  protected  by  an  adequate  impost  on 
the  imported  article.  Their  conversion  into  sugar  has  repeatedly 
been  attempted  in  this  country,  and  of  late  with  flattering  pros- 
pects of  success.  It  may,  possibly,  sustain  a  successful  compe- 
tition with  the  cane.  From  the  experiments  of  M.  Darracq,  it 
has  been  found,  that  in  summer  the  best  yielded  from  three  and 
a  half  to  four  per  cent,  of  sugar,  but  in  October,  after  the  com- 
mencement of  frost,  it  gave  only  syrup  and  saltpeter,  and  no 
crystalizable  sugar.  When  used  for  this  purpose,  the  residuum  of 
the  pulp  after  expressing  the  juice,  is  given  to  cattle.  When 
wilted,  the  leaves  are  also  fed  to  them,  but  caution  is  necessary  to 
prevent  their  scouring.  What  are  not  thus  used  are  plowed  in 
for  manure.  The  beet  is  also  distilled,  and  yields  about  half 
the  product  of  potatoes. 

The  beet  is  no  doubt  the  surest  and  best  crop  for  stock  feeding 
in  America,  particularly  to  milk  cows  and  breeding  ewes,  as  it 
largely  promotes  their  flow  of  milk,  and  keeps  their  bowels  free, 

THE  JERUSALEM  ARTICHOKE,  (hELIANTHUS  TUBEROSUS,) 

A  native  of  Brazil,  is  a  hardy  plant,  but  little  cultivated. 
Loudon  says  the  name  Jerusalem  is  a  corruption  of  the  Itahan 
word  girasole,  (or  sun-flower,)  the  blossom  of  which  it  closely 
resembles,  except  in  size.  It  flourishes  in  a  moist,  loose  soil,  or 
sandy  loam,  with  little  care  except  to  thin  out  and  prevent  weeds. 
It  is  very  productive,  and  easily  cultivated  in  drills,  three  or  four 
feet  apart.    The  planting  may  be  done  in  March  or  April.  As 


ROOTS. 


207 


it  is  not  injured  by  frost,  and  is  very  prolific,  it  will  spread  rapidly 
and  often  becomes  a  pest  in  the  garden.  The  product  is  enor- 
mous,  sometimes  amounting  to  several  hundred  bushels  per 
acre.  Its  nutritive  qualities  are  much  less  than  those  of  the 
potato,  but  its  great  productiveness  and  the  facility  of  raising  it, 
would  seem  to  commend  it  to  more  general  favor.  Boussingault 
considers  it  an  improving  and  proEtable  crop,  from  its  drawing 
its  nitrogen  largely  from  the  atmosphere.  It  is  pecuharly  fitted 
for  a  spring  feed,  as  the  roots  he  uninjured  by  the  vicissitudes  of 
the  weather,  and  may  be  taken  out  in-  perfection  after  most  other 
roots  are  gone. 

The  uses  of  the  Jerusalem  artichoke  in  this  country,  are  both 
for  human  and  animal  food.  The  roots  are  generally  used  as  a 
pickle  or  salad.  Loudon  says,  ''they  may  also  be  eaten  boiled, 
mashed  in  butter,  or  baked  in  pies,  and  have  an  excellent  flavor." 
The  tops  when  cut  and  cured  as  hay,  afford  a  good  fodder  for 
cattle,  and  the  roots  arp  excellent  for  sheep  and  other  stock. 
Swine  will  thrive  upon  them  through  the  winter,  and  do  their 
own  harvesting  when  the  ground  is  not  locked  up  by  frost. 


Note.  ^We  give  on  the  following  page  a  table  of  the  nutritive 

equivalents  of  food,  compiled  by  Boussingault,  as  a  convenient  ref- 
erence, though  not  entirely  rehable  in  all  cases.  For  it  will  be  seen 
from  what  has  before  been  said,  that  the  particular  plants  vary  not 
only  according  to  the  season  and  soil,  but  also  frequently,  according 
to  the  particular  variety  subject  to  analysis.  He  says :  "In  the 
following  table,  to  the  numbers  assigned  by  the  theory,  I  have 
also  given  the  standard  quantity  of  water,  and  the  quantity  of 
azote,  contained  in  each  species  of  food.  The  details  of  my  ex- 
periments, and  the  precautions  needftd  in  entering  on  and  carrying 
them  through,  must  have  satisfied  every  one  of  the  difficulties 
attending  their  conduct.  In  my  opinion,  direct  observation  or 
experiment  is  indispensable,  but  mainly,  solely  as  a  means^  of 
checking  within  rather  wide  hmits,  the  results  of  chemical 
analysis."  • 


208 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


do. 


NUTRITIVE  EQUIVALENTS  OF  DIFFERENT  KINDS  OF  FORAGE. 


Ordinary  natural  meadow  hay, . 
Ditto,  of  fine  quality,  . 
Lucernhay, 

Red  clover  hay,  2d  year's  growth 
Red  clover,  cut  in  flower,  green  ■ 
New  wheat  straw,  crop  1841, 
Old  wheat  straw. 
Do.,  do.,  lower  parts  of  stalk. 
Do.,  do.,  upper  part  of  do.  and  ear, 
New  rye  straw, 

Old  ditto,  

Oat  straw,  .... 
Barley  ditto,  .... 
Pea  ditto  .... 
Millet  ditto,  .... 
Buckwheat  ditto,  . 
Vetches  cut  in  flower  and  dried. 
Potato  tops,  .... 
Field  beet  leaves,  . 
Carrot  ditto,  .... 
Jerusalem  artichoke  stems,  . 
Canada  poplar  shoots. 
Oak  ditto,  .... 
Drum  cabbage,  .... 
Swedish  turnip. 

Turnip,  

Field  beet,  1838,  . 
Ditto,  white  Silesian, 

Carrots,  

Jerusalem  artichoke,  1839, 

Ditto,  1836  

Potatoes,  1838,  .... 
Ditto,  1836,  .... 
Ditto,  after  keeping  in  the  pit. 
Cider  apple  pulp  dried  in  the  air. 
Beet  root  magma,  from  sugar  mill 
Vetches  in  seed. 


Field  beans. 
White  peas,  dry, 
Kidney  beans, 
Lentils,  . 
New  maize. 
Buckwheat,  . 
Barley,  1836, 
Barley  meal,  . 
Ditto,  . 
Oats,  1838, 
Ditto,  1836,  . 
Ditto,  Parisian, 
Rye,  1836,  . 
Ditto,  1838,  . 
Wheat,  1836,  Alsace, 

Ditto,  1838  

Ditto,  from  highly  manured  soil, 
Recent  bran,  .... 
Wheat  husks  or  chaff". 
Rice,  Piedmont, 
Linseed  cake,      .  . 
Hemp,  ditto,  .... 
Beech  mast,  ditto. 
Dry  acorns,     .      .      .      .  . 
Refuse  of  the  wine  press,  air  dried, 


Azote  per  ct. 

Azote 

in  tb^  article 

Theory. 

water  per  ct. 

per  ct. 

not  dried. 

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143 

4812 

1.71 

68 

CHAPTER  X 


FKUITS. 

The  growing  of  fruits  to  the  extent  at  least  of  the  demands 
for  his  own  use,  should  never  be  neglected  by  the  farmer.  The 
soil  and  climate  of  the  United  States  are  almost  everywhere 
suited  to  their  cheap  and  easy  production.  They  are  a  source 
of  profit  for  market  purposes  as  well  as  useful  to  stock ;  and  they 
afford  some  of  the  choicest  and  most  economical  luxuries  for 
domestic  use.  Success  in  their  cultivation  may  at  all  times  be 
secured  by  a  careful  selection  of  the  fruit,  the  soil,  and  location, 
and  by  proper  attention  thereafter. 

From  a  long  course  of  observation,  we  are  satisfied  that  there 
are  no  articles  of  cultivation  on  the  farm  so  refining  in  their  influ- 
ences upon  the  household  as  those  of  fruit.  They  are  sources 
of  health  as  food,  of  luxury  in  their  flavor  and  variety,  of  econ- 
omy in  household  consumption,  of  pleasure  in  their  production, 
and  of  boundless  interest  in  their  study  and  propagation. 

The  first  thing  which  a  farmer  should  do  after  providing  for 
the  necessities  of  his  household  on  the  farm  which  he  is  founding 
for  a  home,  if  not  already  provided,  should  be  liberal  plantations 
of  jfruit  in  all  the  varieties  which  his  family  necessities  require, 
and  the  soil  and  climate  will  readily  produce.  Aside  from  their 
important  domestic  uses  and  profit  as  market  crops,  they  adorn 
and  beautify  the  farmer's  home  with  an  expression  of  comfort, 
wealth,  abundance,  and  hospitality,  to  say  nothing  of  the  good 
taste  they  indicate  in  the  proprietor,  as  well  as  adding  largely  to 
the  actual  value  of  the  premises  either  for  occupation,  or  the  sale 
of  the  estate,  if  by  any  train  of  circumstances  a  sale  becomes 
necessary. 


210 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


In  our  enumeration  of  the  fruits  we  begin  with  that,  which  in 
a  great  majority  of  the  United  States,  is  the  most  used,  and 
valuable. 

THE  APPLE. 

The  locahty  of  the  apple  orchard  should  depend  much  on  the 
climate  and  soil.  In  warm  latitudes,  a  northerly  exposure  is 
perhaps  best  when  not  subject  to  violent  winds,  as  these  from  any 
quarter  are  hable  to  blast  the  fruit  while  in  blossom,  and  blow  it 
from  the  tree  before  it  is  ripe.  It  is  generally  advantageous  to 
protect  an  orchard  from  the  bleak  winds  which  prevail  in  its 
immediate  neighborhood,  by  a  proper  selection  of  the  ground. 
A  warm  and  sunny  position  subjects  the  buds  in  spring  to  pre- 
mature swelling,  and  these  are  often  cut  off  by  the  severe  spring 
frosts  that  follow,  when  an  ordinary  or  northern  exposure  would 
retard  their  budding  until  the  season  is  sufficiently  advanced  for 
their  protection.  The  orchard  should  have  a  medium  position  as 
to  exposure  and  the  influences  of  the  season. 

Soil.  All  the  varieties  intermediate  between  a  stiff,  unyield- 
ing clay  and  a  hght  shifting  sand,  are  friendly  to  the  apple.  The 
soil  best  suited  to  the  perfection  of  fruit  is  a  moist,  friable,  calca- 
reous loam,  shghtly  intermixed  with  fine  gravel.  This  may 
run  either  into  a  sandy  loam,  which  usually  rests  upon  a  subsoil 
of  sand  or  gravel ;  or  into  a  clayey  loam  with  a  subsoil  of  stiff 
clay.  Either  of  these  is  a  good  soil  for  the  orchard.  The 
ground  should  be  rich  enough  for  the  production  of  good  crops 
of  grain,  roots  or  grass.  This  state  of  fertility  is  absolutely 
necessary  for  the  thrifty  growth  of  the  tree,  and  its  existence  in 
a  healthy  and  vigorous  state. 

Springy  or  wet  land  is  decidedly  bad  for  an  orchard,  and  if 
the  farmer  can  appropriate  no  other  for  this  purpose  it  should  be 
thoroughly  tile  drained  to  the  depth  of  three  to  four  feet,  so  as 
to  leave  the  soil  perforated  by  the  roots',  in  a  warm  and  active 
state.  Rocky  and  stony  soils  of  the  above  descriptions  are  usually 
well  adapted  to  the  growth  of  fruit  trees.  The  stones  keep  the 
ground  moist,  loose  and  hght.    Some  of  the  finest  fruits  grow 


FKUITS. 


211 


where  there  is  scarcely  room  to  deposit  the  tree  between  the  huge 
rocks.  They  should  not  however  lie  too  deep  when  close  together, 
as  they  will  impede  and  control  the  growth  of  the  roots.  A  suffi- 
cient area  of  earth  is  always  necessary  for  an  ample  growth  of 
wood  and  the  full  size  of  the  tree  at  maturity.  Stiff  clays  and 
light  blowing  sands  under  very  nice  cultivation  will  grow  fruits, 
but  they  require  active  manure.  Clays  should  be  often  plowed 
while  the  trees  are  young,  particularly  in  the  fall,  that  the  soil 
may  be  ameliorated  by  the  winter  frosts.  The  sands  require 
compact  culture,  and  appropriate  manures.  All  such  as  are  suited 
to  ordinary  crops  on  these  lands  will  promote  the  growth  of  trees. 
The  use  of  other  soils  however  for  the  orchard  should  be  preferred, 
as  the  fruit  will  be  larger,  fairer  and  better  flavored,  and  the  trees 
of  much  longer  duration. 

Planting. — Dig  the  holes  from  three  to  six  feet  in  diameter, 
and  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  deep,  according  to  the  kind  of  soil 
and  the  size  of  the  tree.  The  more  compact  the  soil,  the  deeper 
and  larger  should  be  the  hole.  When  ready  to  plant,  let  enough 
of  the  best  or  top  soil  be  thrown  into  the  bottom  of  the  hole,  so 
that  the  tree  may  stand  about  one  inch  lower  than  when  removed 
from  the  nursery.  The  tree  should  be  taken  up  so  as  to  injure 
the  roots  as  little  as  possible.  If  any  be  broken,  cut  them  off, 
either  square  or  obliquely  with  a  fine  saw  or  sharp  knife.  If  left 
in  their  bruised  or  broken  condition,  they  will  canker  and  decay 
in  the  ground,  but  if  thus  cut  off,  numerous  rootlets  will  spring 
out  at  the  termination  of  the  amputated  root,  which  strikes  into 
the  soft  earth  and  give  increased  support  to  the  tree.  If  the  soil 
be  poor,  the  roots  should  be  covered  and  the  holes  filled  with 
good  earth.  If  the  hole  be  small,  the  surrounding  land  hard,  and 
the  roots  bent  up  and  cramped,  the  trees  cannot  grow,  or  if  after 
a  long  time  of  doubt  and  delay,  it  finally  survives,  it  creeps  along 
with  a  snail's  pace,  making  little  return  to  the  planter.  If  the 
tree  be  crooked,  confine  it  with  a  straw  band  to  a  stake  firmly 
planted  in  the  ground.  This  is  the  best  ligature,  as  it  does  not 
cut  the  bark,  which  small  cords  often  do,  and  it  gradually  gives 


212 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


way  as  the  tree  increases  in  size.  "When  thus  planted,  well 
manured  and  looked  after  subsequently,  the  tree  thrives,  and  in  a 
few  years  rewards  the  owner  with  its  dehcious  and  abundant 
fruit. 

The  season  of  planting  may  be  any  time  after  the  fall  of  the 
leaf  by  frost  in  autumn,  till  its  reappearance  in  the  spring,  provided 
the  ground  be  not  frozen.  Early  spring  is  to  be  preferred  for 
planting  stone  fruits.  They  may  be  planted  while  in  embryo  leaf 
and  blossom  with  entire  success,  but  it  is  usually  best  to  do  this 
before  the  bud  is  much  swollen.  If  one  time  be  equally  conven- 
ient with  another,  we  recommend  spring  planting  for  fruit  gener- 
ally, as  the  earth  then  becomes  settled  about  the  root  early  in  the 
season.  Yet,  on  light  soils,  fall  planting  may  be  equally  advan- 
tageous with  all  excepting  stone  fruits.  This  is  particularly 
advantageous  when  the  spring  is  succeeded  by  a  severe  summer's 
drought.  So  important  is  the  operation  of  planting,  that  it  is 
better  to  have  one  tree  well  planted,  than  three  planted  badly, 
and  more  fruit  may  be  anticipated  within  the  first  ten  years,  if  not 
forever,  from  the  first  one  than  from  all  the  others.  It  sometimes 
occurs  that  in  removing  trees  from  a  great  distance,  they  arrive 
too  late  in  the  fall  to  be  properly  transplanted.  In  such  case  a 
trench  should  be  dug  in  soft  earth  and  the  trees  laid  at  an  angle 
of  about  45°.  three  or  four  inches  apart,  the  roots  carefully  placed 
to  prevent  breaking,  and  the  earth  piled  on  them  for  a  foot  up 
the  trunk,  and  eight  or  ten  inches  over  the  roots.  This  will  pre- 
serve them  until  spring  without  detriment  to  their  future  growth. 
The  practice  is  adopted  by  nurserymen  and  others,  who  often 
transplant  their  trees  from  one  location  to  another  without  loss  or 
difficulty.  Trees  should  never  be  planted  in  the  apple  orchard 
at  less  distance  than  two  rods,  and  forty  feet  apart  is  better.  Close 
planting  prevents  the  trees  from  receiving  the  requisite  quantity 
of  sun  and  the  free  circulation  of  air,  both  of  which  are  essential 
to  the  size,  flavor  and  perfection  of  fruit.  Forty  trees  will  plant 
an  acre,  at  the  distance  of  two  rods  apart.  The  consequence  of 
closer  planting  is  the  premature  decay  of  the  trees  and  an  inferior 


FBUITS. 


213 


quality  of  frait.  Some  planters  advocate  much  closer  planting,  on 
the  plea  that  when  the  trees  grow  larger  and  become  too  close,  a 
part  of  them  can  be  removed,  but  we  have  seldom  seen  one  who 
had  the  hardihood  or  courage  so  to  destroy  them.  Better  plant 
them  at  a  suitable  distance  at  first. 

Cultivation. — A  previously  uncultivated  or  virgin  soil  is  the 
best  for  an  orchard,  but  if  such  is  not  to  be  had,  that  which  has 
been  long  in  pasture  or  meadow  is  most  suitable.  The  most  effi- 
cient manures  are  swamp  muck,  decayed  leaves  and  vegetables, 
rotten  wood,  chip  manure,  lime,  ashes,  gypsum,  etc.  Trees,  like 
any  other  vegetable,  draw  their  own  specific  food  largely  from 
the  soil,  and  to  supply  the  elements  of  their  growth  in  abundance, 
the  earth  should  occasionally  be  renewed  with  those  materials 
which  may  have  become  partially  or  wholly  exhausted.  When 
carefully  plowed  and  cultivated  in  hoed  crops,  orchards  thrive 
most  rapidly,  care  being  always  taken  to  protect  the  trees  from 
damage  either  to  the  trunks  or  roots.  All  tearing  of  the  roots  is 
objectionable.  The  ground  should  be  kept  rich  and  open,  so  as 
to  be  pervious  to  the  influence  of  rains,  the  sun  and  the  atmosphere. 
Under  these  conditions  the  trees  will  thrive  vigorously. 

When  lands  are  kept  in  grass,  a  space  of  three  to  six  feet  in 
diameter,  according  to  the  age  and  size  of  the  tree,  should  always 
be  kept  free  from  turf  around  them.  Pastures  which  are  trodden 
by  animals,  are  so  bared  by  this  and  the  closeness  of  their  crop- 
ping, when  they  can  do  so  without  browsing  or  injuring  the  trees 
and  fruits,  that  the  roots  of  the  trees  get  their  share  of  benefit  from 
the  sun  and  rains.  From  this  cause  pastures  are  better  suited  to 
orchards  than  mowing  lands;  for  the  latter  are  so  completely 
covered  by  the  rank  growth  of  grass  that  the  tree  suffers,  and 
without  the  aid  of  manures  and  the  annual  loosening  of  the  ground 
for  a  few  feet  around,  the  tree  in  some  cases  dies  from  exhaustion. 
All  kinds  of  cereal  grains  are  bad  for  orchards,  except  perhaps 
buckwheat.  The  preparation  of  the  ground  for  this  crop,  by  early 
summer  plowing,  is  highly  conducive  to  the  growth  of  trees,  and 
-  its  nutriment  being  drawn  largely  from  the  air,  it  robs  the  roots 
of  a  small  amount  only  of  the  materials  in  the  soil. 


214  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 

A  neighboring  farmer,  whose  management  many  years  since 
came  imder  our  notice,  had  a  small  mowing  lot  adjoining  his 
barn  and  cattle  sheds,  which  was  surrounded  with  a  stone  wall. 
The  soil  was  a  moist  gravelly  loam,  every  way  fitted  for  the 
growth  of  apple  trees,  as  was  shown  by  there  having  been  several 
flourishing  orchards  on  similar  soils  in  the  immediate  vicinity. 
He  filled  this  with  apple  trees,  set  in  small  holes  at  the  proper 
distances,  the  rows  terminating  on  each  side  close  to  the  wall  and 
also  near  his  barn  and  sheds.  After  setting  out,  the  trees  were 
staked  and  then  left  to  grow,  as  best  they  could  without  farther 
cultivation.  Those  remote  from  the  wall  and  buildings  remained 
nearly  stationary  for  several  years,  while  those  under  their 
influence,  after  two  or  three  years  began  to  show  a  vigorous 
growth.  The  grass  was  cut  and  removed  annually,  and  the  trees 
received  no  cultivation,  save  perhaps  a  bushel  or  two  of  chip 
manure  occasionally  thrown  around  them.  Twenty  years  after 
they  were  planted,  the  trees  next  to  the  wall  and  buildings  were 
thrifty  and  had  attained  a  large  size,  while  many  of  the  others 
had  died,  a  few  had  grown  to  one-fourth  the  size  of  the  outer  ones, 
and  others  were  still  smaller,  mossy,  and  showing  signs  of  a  pre- 
mature old  age.  Not  one-third  of  the  trees  gave  any  return 
whatever.  The  wall  and  buildings  kept  the  soil  next  them  light 
and  moist,  while  that  in  the  more  open  field  spent  all  its  energy 
upon  the  grass.  An  orchard  to  be  productive  and  profitable, 
must  he  cultivated^  and  without  this,  it  is  useless  to  plant  it. 

Pruning. — This  operation  should  commence  at  the  planting 
of  the  tree,  the  top  of  which  should  always  be  in  proportion  to 
the  size  and  number  of  the  roots.  If  the  top  be  high  and  spind- 
hng,  shorten  it  so  as  to  throw  the  lateral  shoots  into  a  gracefiil 
and  branching  form.  The  limbs  may  commence  about  six  feet 
from  the  ground.  The  pruning  should  be  done  annually,  as  the 
labor  is  then  trifling,  and  the  expenditure  of  vital  force  in  matur- 
ing wood  which  is  afterwards  to  be  cut  off  is  thus  saved,  and  the 
branches  to  be  removed  being  small  the  wounds  readily  heal.  In 
this  case  no  covering  is  required  for  the  wound  as  one  or  two 


FRUITS. 


215 


season^s  growth  wiU  heal  it.    The  top  should  be  sufficiently  open 
to  admit  the  sun  and  air.    The  best  time  for  trimming  is  when 
the  tree  is  in  bloom,  and  the  sap  in  full  flow.    The  proper  mstru^ 
ment  is  a  fine  saw  or  sharp  knife,  and  the  hmb  should  be  cut  off 
close  to  the  remaining  branch.    The  sap  at  this  time  is  active, 
and  is  readily  converted  into  new  bark  and  wood,  which  speedily 
forms  over  the  cut.    But  this  is  a  busy  season  with  the  farmer, 
and  if  he  cannot  then  prune  his  trees  he  may  do  it  when  more 
convenient,  taking  care  to  secure  the  wounds  by  an  efficient  cov- 
ering of  salve.     Old  trees,  or  such  as  are  growing  vigorously  and 
have  been  long  neglected,  often  require  severe  trimming,  which 
should  always  be  done  in  May  or  June,  and  when  the  wounds 
are  large  they  should  be  covered  with  a  coat  of  thick  Spamsh 
brown  paint  or  grafting  wax.    If  they  are  left  exposed  and  the 
growth  of  the  tree  be  slow,  decay  will  often  take  place  before 
they  are  healed.    Too  much  care  cannot  be  used  in  these  opera- 
tions.   In  large  trees,  a  ladder  should  always  be  at  hand  to  avoid 
breaking  the  limbs  by  the  weight  of  the  operator.    If  by  too  close 
planting  the  branches  of  different  trees  be  brought  into  contact, 
thorough  pruning  is  absolutely  necessary,  as  without  it  good  fruit 
cannot  be  obtained;  or,  abetter  way  is  to  remove  some  of  the 
trees  altogether. 

Grafting  and  Budding. — These  operations  are  so  simple, 
and  usually  so  well  known  by  some  individual  in  every  farming 
neighborhood,  that  no  written  description  of  either  operation  is 
necessary.    Grafting  wax  of  the  best  kind  is  thus  made:  Take 
four  parts  of  rosin,  one  of  tallow  and  one  of  beeswax,  melt  and 
stir  them  well  together,  then  pour  them  into  a  bucket  or  pan  of 
cold  water.    As  soon  as  cool  enough  to  be  handled,  work  it  over 
and  draw  it  out  hke  shoemaker's  wax,  until  it  is  entirely  phable. 
It  may  then  be  used  immediately  or  laid  up  and  kept  for  years. 
The  mode  of  applying  it  is  known  to  every  grafter.    Scions  should 
always  be  of  the  growth  of  the  preceding  year  and  cut  from  well 
ripened,  thrifty  wood,  in  the  months  of  January,  February  or 
March,  before  the  buds  begin  to  swell  with  the  flow  of  the  spring 


216 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


sap.  Tie  them  up  and  keep  in  a  moist,  cool  place,  a  cellar  bottom, 
or  box  of  moss  or  earth,  till  ready  for  use.  "When  circumstances 
require  it,  grafts  may  be  cut  at  any  time  after  the  fall  of  the  leaf, 
but  the  months  indicated  are  best  in  all  localities  north  of  the 
Potomac  and  Ohio  rivers.  July  and  August  are  the  best  time 
for  budding.  This  should  always  be  done  while  the  sap  is  in 
flow  and  the  bark  is  loose,  as  at  no  other  time  is  success  certain. 

Selection  of  Trees. — These  should  always  be  selected  from 
seedlings.  Suckers  from  the  roots  of  grown  trees  are  objectiona- 
ble as  tending  to  throw  up  suckers  themselves  which  are  always 
troublesome.  When  they  appear,  these  should  be  cut  close  to 
the  root  or  stem,  and  if  properly  done,  they  will  rarely  sprout 
anew. 

In  our  opinion,  decidedly  the  best  trees  for  orchard  planting, 
and  long  endurance,  are  natural  stocks,  growm  to  planting  size, 
and  grafted  a  year  or  two  after  their  growth  in  the  orchard  is 
secured.  The  reason  is  this:  being  wildings  they  are  of  no  par- 
ticular variety,  usually  hardy  in  their  wood,  and  compact  in  its 
growth.  Thus  they  are  tough  and  strong  in  fibre,  with  vigorous 
roots.  All  choice  fruits,  with  perhaps  a  few  exceptions,  are 
refined  and  delicate  in  their  wood,  as  well  as  in  their  fruits,  less 
hardy  to  resist  outside  influences  of  the  sun  and  atmosphere,  and 
less  robust  in  the  trunk.  Therefore  when  the  choicer  and  more 
refined  woods  are  grafted  upon  them  at  branch  height,  their  leaves 
protect  their  own  wood,  which  is  better  sustained  by  the  vigor- 
ous sap  of  the  wilding  below.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  common 
way  of  nursery  grafting,  at  or  near  the  root  while  very  young, 
although  closely  grown  in  the  nurseries  where  they  protect  each 
other,  and  make  an  apparently  healthy,  clean  and  vigorous  growth, 
when  transplanted  into  the  orchard  they  are  more  liable  to  cas- 
ualty, and  prove  much  shorter  lived  than  the  wildings. 

In  the  earlier  settled  States,  in  our  boyhood,  fifty  years  ago, 
we  knew  old  orchards  of  choice  apples,  that  when  young,  were 
grafted  branch  high^  which  history  and  tradition  gave  an  age  of 
eighty  or  a  hundred  years,  still  in  vigorous  bearing  and  of  eighteen 


FRUITS.  IS  T  T2lf 

inches  to  two  feet  in  diameter.  Some  of  those  tr^^  are  still  Hy- 
ing; while  since  that  time  root  grafted  trees  have  ^|n^4a]^ted, 
lived  out  their  time  of  bearing,  and  decayed,  and  with  oSlia^^^ 
tivation  than  the  ancient  trees  ever  received.  It  may  be  arguea 
by  the  nurserymen  and  others,  who  maintain  the  better  plan  of 
early  root  grafting,  that  the  later  planted  trees  may  have  lacked 
the  pabulum  of  tree  growth,  which  the  early  orchards,  planted  in 
a  virgin  soil,  contained.  It  may  to  some  extent  be  so  in  the 
older  sections  of  the  country,  but  root  grafted  trees,  on  the  newer 
lands  show  the  same  shorter  lived  propensity.  We  do  not  decide 
the  theory;  the  fact  is  all  that  we  notice;  but  were  we  left  to  a 
choice,  our  selection  would  be  those  of  the  natural  or  wilding 
stocks,  with  head  grafting  afterwards. 

Planting  the  Seed. — If  the  farmer  wish  to  raise  his  own 
trees  he  can  sow  the  seed  or  pomace  in  rows  in  the  fall.  After 
they  come  up  in  the  spring,  weed  and  hoe  them  hke  any  vege- 
table. When  a  year  old,  they  should  be  carefully  taken  up,  the 
tap  root  cut  off  and  re-planted  in  rows  four  feet  apart,  and  at  least 
a  foot  distant  in  the  rows,  when  they  should  be  regularly  trimmed 
and  cultivated  till  they  are  one  and  one-half  or  two  inches  diame- 
ter at  the  base,  at  which  time  they  are  fit  for  the  orchard.  These 
operations  are  however  the  appropriate  business  of  the  nursery- 
man, for  whose  guidance  there  should  always  be  at  hand,  some 
standard  work  on  the  cultivation  of  fruits.  Of  these  there  are 
several  valuable  American  authorities. 

Gathering  and  Preserving.— For  immediate  use,  apples 
may  be  shaken  from  the  tree.  For  winter  consumption  or  pack- 
ing for  market,  they  should  be  carefully  picked  by  hand  with  the 
aid  of  ladders,  to  avoid  bruising  the  fruit  and  injuring  the  limbs. 
To  preserve  apples,  the  best  method  is  to  lay  them  carefully  into 
tight  barrels  or  boxes,  immediately  after  picking,  and  after  being 
lightly  shaken  or  pressed  together.  They  may  then  be  tightly 
headed,  with  the  head  heavily  pressed  down  and  secured,  for 
marketing,  or  covered  so  as  to  exclude  the  air,  when  intended  for 
family  use.    The  boxes  or  barrels  should  then  be  put  away  into 


218  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 

a  dry  place,  and  kept  as  cold  as  possible  above  the  freezing 
point.  But  if  .slightly  frozen,  they  will  not  be  injured  if  suffered 
to  remain  unpacked  till  the  frost  leaves  them.  Thus  managed, 
they  will  keep  as  long  as  they  are  capable  of  preservation.  Bins 
in  a  dry  cellar  are  good  for  ordinary  use  if  closely  covered.  If 
exposed  to  the  air,  warmth,  or  moisture,  apples  soon  decay,  it 
too  dry,  they  wilt  and  become  tasteless.  They  are  sometimes 
buried  in  the  earth  like  potatoes,  but  this  is  very  hable  to  impair 
the  flavor  and  give  them  an  earthy  taste;  and  they  seldom  keep 
so  well  after  removal  in  the  spring  as  when  they  have  been  stored 
in  barrels. 

For  farm  stock,  apples  are  extremely  profitable,  and  the 
better  the  quahty  of  fruit  the  more  valuable  are  they  for  this 
object.    When  so  fed  they  should,  like  roots,  be  cut  to  avoid 
choking.    A  variety  of  both  sweet  and  sub-acid  should  be  culti- 
vated    The  saccharine  matter  of  the  apple  is  the  principal 
nutritive  property,  and  this  abounds  in  some  kinds  of  the  sub- 
acid   Animals  like  a  change  in  their  food  as  well  as  man,  and 
both  these  varieties  should,  therefore,  be  fed  to  them  alternately. 
When  the  soil  and  climate  are  adapted  to  them,  we  have  no 
doubt  that  apples  for  stock,  can  be  grown  cheaper  than  any  other 
kind  of  food,  excepting  grass.  Hogs  have  been  often  fatted  upon 
them  cooked,  with  grain  meal  intermixed ;  and  when  fed  to  horses, 
neat  cattle,  and  sheep,  with  hay,  they  are  almost  equivalent  to 
roots.    That  tree  must  be  badly  cultivated  which  m  ten  years 
after  planting,  will  not  produce  five  bushels  of  apples;  and  these, 
at  ten  cents  a  bushel,  give  an  annual  revenue  of  fifty  cents  a 
tree  or  twenty  dollars  per  acre  for  stock  feeding  alone.  At 
twenty  years  old,  the  tree  will  double  that  product,  casualties 
excepted,  and  as  this  estimate  is  based  on  their  least  valuable 
use  an  increased  profit  of  course  may  be  anticipated  from  their 
conversion  to  other  purposes.     Good  apples  are  rarely  worth 
less  than  twenty -five  cents  a  bushel  in  market;  often  three  or 
four  times  that  amount.    The  ranging  of  swine  among  any  kind 
of  fruit  trees -greatly  conduces  to  their  health  and  growth. 


FRUITS.  219 

Besides  the  support  of  the  swine,  their  consumption  of  windfalls 
secures  the  destruction  of  the  insects  in  them.  Sheep,  turkeys, 
ducks,  and  chickens,  answer  the  same  purpose  when  suffered  to 
frequent  them  in  suificient  numbers.  For  stock  feeding,  sweet 
apples  are  best. 

Best  Varieties  of  Apples  for  Cultivation. — Almost 
every  section  of  the  apple  growing  region  of  America  has  a 
greater  or  less  variety  peculiar  to  itself,  and  their  valuable  prop- 
erties appear  more  fully  developed  in  these  locahties  than  when 
removed  to  others.    Such  should  of  course  be  retained  when  of 
extraordinary  excellence.     There  are  varieties,  however,  which 
are  of  more  general  cultivation,  cosmopoHtes  throughout  the 
apple  chmates,  of  fine  quahty,  and  possessing  all  the  excellence 
of  which  the  genus  is  capable.     Thirty  different  kinds  for  each 
section  or  State,  will  probably  include  all  which  it  is  desirable  to 
cultivate,  and  for  any  one  location  perhaps  twenty  is  sufficient. 
We  name  some  standard  varieties,  all  of  which  are  now  in  sue- 
cessful  cultivation  in  different  parts  of  the  United  States  and  the 
Canadas.    The  names  and  descriptions  are  found  in  the  current 
fruit  books  and  nursery  catalogues  of  the  day. 

Summer  Apples.— E^^rlj  Harvest,  Red  Astracan,  Large  Yel- 
low Bough,  WilHams'  Favorite. 

Autumn  ^^^Ze5.— Golden  Sweet,  Fall  Pippin,  Gravenstein, 
Jersey  Sweeting,  Rambo.  ' 

Winter  Apples.— We^i^al^  Seek-no-farther,  Baldwin,  Yellow 
Belle  Fleur,  Hubbardston  Nonesuch,  Northern  Spy,  Peck's 
Pleasant,  Rhode  Island  Greening,  American  Golden  Russet, 
English  Russet,  Roxbury  Russet,  Swaar,  Talman's  Sweeting,' 
Esopus  Spitzenberg,  King. 

These  varieties  are  unimpeachable  in  "Western  New  York 
which  probably  is  the  best  and  most  exclusively  market  apple 
producing  country  in  the  Northern  States.  But  the  most  expe- 
rienced orchardists  there  confine  their  attention  to  a  very  few 
winter  varieties,  of  which  the  Baldwin,  Greening,  and  Roxbury 
Russet  are  the  chief,  as  being  hardy  in  the  tree,  thrifty  in  growth, 
and  sure  and  abundant  bearers. 


220 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


Still  there  are  wide  sections  of  country  where  apples  thrive 
well,  and  the  kinds  we  have  mentioned  are  not  successful,  or  if 
they  do  grow,  their  fruit  becomes  changed  in  flavor,  size,  time 
of  ripening,  and  productiveness,  induced  by,  a  change  of  soil  and 
climate. 

These  different  soils  and  localities  have,  too,  their  own  peculiar 
and  good  varieties,  either  originating  there,  or  amenable  to  their 
condition ;  and  such  varieties,  when  successful,  should  there  be 
cultivated.  "We  cannot  specify  the  names  of  such  different  kinds 
as  a  sure  guide  to  all.  But  under  one  general  remark  to  those 
who  contemplate  apple  orchard  planting,  we  say:  look  around 
and  ascertain  what  are  the  best  fruits  successfully  cultivated  in 
the  vicinity ;  or  if  an  entirely  new  country,  what  varieties  grow 
and  are  successful  in  like  soils  and  climate,  and  then  adopt  them. 
With  such  a  guide,  no  one  need  be  at  much  loss  in  raising  excel- 
lent fruits  for  all  necessary  purposes.  The  catalogues  now 
annually  distributed  broadcast  over  the  country  from  the  various 
fruit  tree  nurseries,  will  give  abundant  suggestions  as  to  choice 
of  varieties. 

Another  hint  may  be  suggested.  As  trees,  living  fifty  to  a 
hundred  years,  cannot  be  subjected  to  fi-equent  rotation,  like 
annual  vegetable  crops,  their  roots  will,  in  time,  assuredly  ex- 
haust the  soil  in  which  they  stand,  of  the  specific  food  which 
they  so  largely  draw  from  it.  In  land  long  cultivated,  this  must 
be  supplied  to  the  young  orchards,  and  replaced  for  the  support 
of  the  old  ones.  Wood  ashes,  lime,  bone  dust,  phosphates  gen- 
erally, decayed  wood,  and  a  moderate  amount  of  barn  manure, 
will  supply  these  deficiencies ;  and  they  should  be  supplied  in 
sufficient  quantities  to  keep  the  soil  active  in  their  distribution  to 
the  roots.  Spent  tan  bark,  sawdust,  and  wood  shavings,  (all 
these  may  come  under  the  head  of  "chip  manure,")  when  decom- 
posed, aid  largely  in  giving  their  decayed  humus  to  the  roots. 
We  have  seen  old,  decaying  orchards,  largely  benefited  and 
made  productive  by  their  application;  and  without  them,  where 
large  crops  of  fruit  are  annually  gathered,  orchards  will  in  time 


FRUITS. 


221 


become  as  surelj  unproductive  as  by  the  exhaustion  of  the  soil 
in  common  farm  crops,  without  a  constant  restoration  of  its  fer- 
tihty.    This  course  of  treatment  refers  to  all  fruits  ahke. 

MAKING  CIDER. 

In  connection  with  the  cultivation  of  the  apple,  follows  the 
manufacture  of  this  important  article,  which,  more  or  less,  in  some 
shape,  enters  into  the  consum.ption  of  every  thrifty  and  well  con- 
ditioned farm  household  where  the  fruit  is  grown.  It  has  been  a 
beverage,  in  apple  countries,  from  time  immemorial,  and  con- 
sidered, when  used  in  moderation,  as  palatable,  healthful,  and 
invigorating  to  the  system.  However  it  is  used,  whether  as  a 
beverage,  or  for  vinegar,  the  article  should  be  a  good  one. 

A  good  cider  apple  should  be  rather  astringent  in  its  proper- 
ties of  flesh  and  juice,  not  what  we  would  select  as  the  best  edi- 
ble varieties,  but  fruit  of  the  native  or  ungrafted  kinds,  as  they 
grow  in  the  nurseries ;  natural  fruit,  as  it  is  called.  Yet,  even 
the  best  table  and  cooking  varieties  will  make  good  cider. 

October,  and  November,  according  to  the  climate,  when  the 
warm  season  has  passed,  and  the  lighter  autumn  frosts  have  com- 
menced, and  the  fruit  is  in  all  its  ruddy  perfection  of  ripeness,  is 
the  proper  time  to  produce  the  best  article.  The  earlier  varieties 
will,  in  their  season,  make  a  palatable  cider,  but  it  is  lighter  in 
its  must^  and  its  keeping  qualities  are  of  short  duration.  There- 
fore, a  fruit  that  has  enjoyed  a  full  season's  growth,  and  matured 
its  rich  quahties  in  perfection,  should  be  sought  for  the  purpose. 
Nor  is  it  necessary  that  the  fruit  should  all  be  of  one  variety; 
sweet,  sub-acid,  sour,  even  acrid  fruits,  mixed  with  the  sweeter 
ones,  all  combine  in  harmonious  proportion;  the  only  require- 
ment necessary,  that  they  be,  alike  thoroughly  ripe. 

The  fruit  should  be  carefully  gathered — shaken  from  the  tree 
is  all  that  is  necessary — ^kept  clean  of  leaves,  shriveled  windfalls, 
and  rotten  ones,  and  carefully  housed  in  moderate  sized  heaps 
until  the  fruit  is  ready  for  working. 

Grinding.— ThQXQ  hxe  various  ways  of  doing  this.  The  mod- 
ern way  of  rasping  the  fruit  into  a  pulp,  by  rapidly  revolving 


222 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


cylinders  filled  with  sliarp  teeth,  or  graters,  has  not  been  an 
improvement  over  the  older,  and  perhaps  more  tedious  methods 
of  crushing^  and  the  immediate  pressing  of  the  pomace,  after 
being  so  rapidly  ground,  is  an  injury  to  its  good  and  lasting  quali- 
ties. There  has  not  been,  and  we  fear,  cannot  be  any  improvement 
over  the  old  crushing  process  under  a  huge  revolving  stone  of 
four  or  five  feet  in  diameter,  and  eight  or  ten  inches  in  thick 
ness,  following  in  a  circular  tight  trough,  with  flaring  sides  a  foot 
or  more  high,  like  the  old-fashioned  bark-mill;  or  the  upright, 
circular  grooved  blocks  of  wood  mashing  into  each  other,  and 
propelled  by  horse  power.  A  corrugated  iron  hopper,  with 
core  revolving  perpendicularly  within  it,  of  a  good  kind,  is 
now  used.  Under  either  of  the  old  processes,  or  any  other 
mode  of  grinding,  when  reduced  to  a  fine  pulp,  (and  if  even 
the  seeds  are  mashed,  they  will  be  no  detriment,)  the  pomace 
should  immediately  be  stored  in  a  large  shallow  vat,  and  remain 
from  twelve  to  twenty-four  hours,  depending  on  the  temperature 
of  the  weather,  as  it  maybe  warm  or  cool.  If  the  weather  be 
warm,  it  need  not  remain  longer  than  the  shorter ;  if  cool,  it  may 
remain  the  longer  time,  or  intermediate  between  them.  During 
this  time,  the  pomace  should  be  well  turned  every  five  or  six 
hours  with  a  wooden  scoop  shovel,  that  it  may  imbibe  the  oxygen 
of  the  atmosphere,  which  sweetens,  enriches,  and  gives  it  deep 
color.  But  fermentation  should  not  be  suffered  in  the  pomace; 
let  that  be  for  the  cider  itself.  When  ground  in  the  grooved 
blocks,  the  pomace  falls  into  a  large  tight  vat  or  tub,  where  the 
same  delay  and  turning  is  necessary.  If  ground  by  the  stone  in 
the  trough,  shovelling  out  of  the  latter  into  the  vat  may  be  neces- 
sary, unless  the  trough  can  be  placed  at  a  higher  elevation,  with 
a  movable  trap  door  in  one  part  of  the  bottom,  through  which 
the  pomace  may  be  emptied. 

Pressing. — For  cleanliness,  as  well  as  for  convenience,  and 
clearness  of  the  cider,  a  wooden-slatted  crib  is  better  for  laying 
up  pomace  in  the  cheese,  than  the  old  mode  of  building  it  with 
straw  alone.  The  crib  may  be  of  a  size  necessary  for  the  extent 
of  work  which  may  be  required  for  the  cider  making  season, — 


FRUITS. 


223 


say  four  to  six  feet  square,  inside.  The  manner  of  making  it  is 
this :  The  pieces  composing  the  crib,  should  be  hard  wood  scant- 
ling, three  to  four  inches  square,  laid  horizontally,  and  keyed 
together  at  the  ends,  or  corners  of  the  crib.  The  two  lower 
scanthngs  should  be  an  inch  above  the  floor,  and  the  others  laid 
upon  them  alternately,  cob-house  fashion,  with  a  slot  and  key  in 
each  end  to  keep  them  in  place,  as  they  are  laid  up,  and  the 
cheese  progresses  in  height. 

How  to  lay  the  Cheese, — First,  put  a  good  layer  of  clean  straw 
on  the  floor  inside  the  first  set  of  crib  work,  so  that,  when  pressed, 
it  will  not  exceed  half  an  inch  in  thickness;  then  put  in  an 
even  layer  of  pomace  four  inches  thick;  then  set  up  short  pieces 
of  lath,  vertically,  inside,  with  spaces  an  inch  apart,  to  let  the 
cider  through  as  it  is  pressed.    Other  short  pieces  of  the  lath 
may  be  put  in  as  the  cheese  progresses  in  height  to  the  place 
where  the  pomace  is  thrown  upon  the  cheese,  so  as  not*  to  be  in 
the  way.    After  the  first  layer  of  pomace,  put  on  another  one  of 
straw,  then  pomace,  then  straw  and  pomace  alternately  until  the 
crib  is  filled,  which,  when  done,  should  not  be  over  four  feet  high. 
Then  lay  on  a  covering  of  planks  to  receive  the  pressing  blocks 
ready  for  the  screw.    No  water  should  be  used  to  wet  the  straw 
as  it  is  laid  up,  for  there  is  enough  of  that  already  in  the  juice. 
Loose  planks  should  be  laid  outside  the  crib,  on  which  the  work- 
men  may  stand,  to  keep  the  running  cider  clean.    The  cider  will 
run  considerably  of  itself,  as  the  cheese  is  laid  before  pressure. 
We  should  have  said,  when  laying  the  floor  of  the  press,  that  the 
front  of  it  should  be  an  inch  or  two  lower  than  the  rear,  the 
planks  composing  the  floor  should  butt  towards  the  tub  which 
receives  the  liquid,  so  that  it  may  run  down  inside  of  the  crib, 
instead  of  across  them.    A  groove,  two  to  three  inches  wide' 
according  to  the  area  of  the  floor,  and  an  inch  deep  in  the  planks,' 
close  outside  the  crib,  should  be  made  to  receive  and  conduct  rap' 
idly  the  liquid  as  it  is  pressed.    The  tub,  or  vat,  receiving  the 
cider,  should  be  large  enough  to  hold  the  entire  pressing,  that  it 
may  be  well  mixed,  and  of  one  quality,  the  first  runnings  being 
the  richest;  or,  if  the  receiving  tub  be  smaller,  several  barrels 


224 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


may  be  provided  and  alternately  poured  in  to  keep  the  quality 
of  each  equal. 

As  the  cheese  becomes  compactly  pressed,  room  will  be  left  on 
the  top  to  receive  fresh  pomace,  which  may  be  added  and 
laid  up  successively,  and  pressed  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
first.  If  the  screw,  or  screws,  and  the  power  exerted  upon  them 
be  of  sufficient  strength,  the  cheese,  as  is  the  manner  with  some 
cider  makers,  need  not  be  cut  for  pressing  over,  and  even  then, 
only  to  make  water  cider,  which  is  but  a  poor  substitute  for  the 
real  article.  Still,  some  people  like,  and  use  it.  If  the  cheese  be 
cut,  it  will  be  necessary  to  take  the  crib  apart,  but  it  need  not  be 
replaced  for  pressing.  When  the  liquid  is  put  into  barrels,  a 
large  wooden  tunnel  should  be  provided,  holding  two  or  three 
buckets  full,  tapering  towards  the  bottom,  with  a  discharge  large 
enough  in  diameter  to  fill  the  bung  of  the  barrel.  At  the  bot- 
tom should  be  a  course  or  two  of  lath,  and  then  clean  straw, 
through  which  the  cider  can  pass  without  carrying  its  sediment. 
The  straw  should  be  thrown  out,  and  replaced  with  fresh,  as 
often  as  it  gets  filled.  After  the  barrels  are  full,  they  should  be 
tightly  bunged,  rolled  into  the  cellar,  and  laid  up  on  blocks,  or 
skids,  with  the  bungs  up,  for  further  operations.  The  pomace, 
at  the  press,  may  be  fed  to  the  cattle  in  moderate  quantities,  or 
go  onto  the  manure  heaps. 

Fermentation, — The  bungs  should  now  be  taken  out,  and  every 
barrel  filled  to  the  vent  with  pure  apple  juice — not  water — that 
the  fermentation,  which  will  soon  commence,  may  have  full  play, 
and  the  impure  matter,  as  pomace  remains,  and  any  other  extra- 
neous matter  may  pass  off  freely.  This  requires  daily  looking 
after,  to  keep  the  barrel  full  to  the  bung-hole,  and  scrape  off  the 
feculent  and  frothy  matter  with  which  it  is  charged.  When  this 
is  thoroughly  done,  and  no  further  effervescence  arises,  the  bungs 
may  again  be  driven  tight,  for  keeping. 

The  Casks. — These  should  be  clean  and  sweet.  If  new  ones 
are  provided,  they  should  be  of  sound  oak  staves.  If  second- 
hand ones  are  used,  whisky  or  other  spirit  casks  are  the  best, 


FRUITS. 


225 


provided  they  be  clear  of  must  or  other  impurities.  If  not,  they 
should  be  thoroughly  cleansed  with  lime  or  wood  ashes  and  water, 
and  afterwards  thoroughly  fumigated  with  matches  of  roll  brim- 
stone dropped  into  the  bung,  after  which  they  can  be  thoroughly 
rinsed  with  hot  water,  and  drained  dry.  Before  the  cider  is  put 
into  them,  a  small  pine  plug  should  be  inserted  in  the  outer  head, 
two  inches  above  the  lower  chime,  for  draining  off  and  racking. 
No  extraneous  matter  should  be  added  after  the  cider  has  thor- 
oughly worked.  A  thousand  nostrums  have  been  invented  and 
pubhshed  for  preserving  and  improving  the  flavor  of  cider.  They 
are  sheer  nonsense ;  make  the  cider  as  we  have  directed,  and  it 
will  take  care  of  itself. 

The  First  Racking. — This  has  now  to  be  done  as  soon  atter 
the  "working"  has  thoroughly  subsided  as  may  be.  To  do  this, 
first  provide  one  clean  empty  barrel  to  receive  the  contents  of 
the  first  barrel  drawn  off.  Into  this  clean  barrel  put  three  gallons 
of  the  new  cider  drawn  from  the  first  one  tapped ;  then  take  a 
strip  of  clean  cotton  cloth,  an  inch  and  a  half  wide  and  ten 
inches  long,  dip  in  melted  roll  brimstone,  six  inches  of  it,  set  it 
on  fire,  put  it  into  the  bung-hole  of  the  cask,  (the  new  one,)  and 
bung  it  tight,  letting  the  clean  end  of  the  Hghted  strip  or  match 
be  in  the  bung,  so  as  to  hold  it  tight,  suspended  in  the  cask.  The 
burning  match  will  soon  exhaust  the  oxygen  in  the  barrel ;  then 
skake  the  barrel  violently,  that  the  cider  in  it  may  become 
thoroughly  incorporated  with  the  brimstone ;  then  take  out  the 
bung  and  fill  the  barrel  from  the  cask  already  tapped,  avoiding 
the  lees,  if  there  be  any.  When  done,  replace  the  bung  in  the 
barrel  newly  racked,  drive  it  home,  and  lay  up  the  cask  in  the 
place  of  the  empty  one,  or  elsewhere.  Thus  proceed  successively 
with  each  cask  till  completed.  If  a  portion  of  the  cider  is  needed 
for  winter  use,  a  barrel  may  be  tapped  and  drawn  as  required. 

The  second  and  final  racking  may  be  done  late  in  February  or 
March,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  first,  but  the  brimstone,  or 
'  stumming,  may  not  be  necessary,  unless  it  is  found  that  the  bar- 
rels have  been  disturbed,  or  from  some  unknown  cause  the  flavor 


226 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


of  some  of  them  has  changed,  or  deteriorated.  It  will  then  keep 
sound  and  good  for  spring  and  summer  use,  or  may  be  bottled  at 
leisure,  being  careful  at  this  time  to  draw  every  cask  clean,  except 
the  lees,  if  there  still  be  any  at  the  bottom.  In  botthng,  let  the 
bottles  be  perfectly  clean,  and  the  corks  driven  tight,  and  well 
secured  by  twine  or  wire.  "We  have  drank  the  best  of  cider 
several  years  old,  cured  in  this  process. 

Avoid,  as  we  before  said,  those  wretched  compounds  recom- 
mended by  the  quacks.  Pure  and  good  cider  is  the  pure  juice 
of  the  apple,  and  nothing  else.  In  recommending  the  old-fash- 
ioned cider  mill,  we  may  be  accused  by  modern  inventors  of 
non-progression.  No  matter.  It  is  impossible  that  the  small, 
newly  invented  rasping  machines,  with  their  little  tubs  for  receiving 
the  pomace,  to  be  squeezed  out  as  soon  as  ground,  can  make  good, 
long-keeping  cider.    At  any  rate,  we  have  not  yet  seen  it. 

VINEGAR. 

The  best  article  is  made  from  pure  cider,  as  every  manufacturer 
advertises  his  wares  of  the  kind  as  "pure  cider  vinegar,"  although 
it  is  often  made  of  various  other  compounds.  Wine  will  make 
excellent  vinegar,  of  course — as  good  as  cider — ^but  that  is  too 
expensive.  Beer,  adulterated  whisky,  and  various  other  ingre- 
dients are  used,  but  cider  vinegar  is  altogether  the  best.  In  order 
to  make  it,  it  is  only  necessary  to  let  the  acid  fermentation  take 
place  in  a  warm  situation,  with  the  bung  open,  and  a  gauze  over 
it  to  keep  out  the  flies,  and  a  little  "mother"  added  from  a  cask 
already  made  and  in  use.  Some  orchardists  turn  their  whole 
apple  produce  into  vinegar,  as  the  least  troublesome  and  most 
profitable  use  they  can  make  of  it.  When  the  cider  becomes 
really  good  vinegar,  it  should  be  tightly  bunged,  and  kept  till 
sold  or  used. 

THE  PEAR. 

The  pear  is  the  most  valuable,  and  one  of  the  most  luscious 
and  wholesome  market  fruits,  though  not  comparable  to  the  apple 
for  variety  and  general  use.    In  a  good  soil,  and  under  proper 


FRUITS. 


227 


cultivation,  it  is  both  vigorous  and  hardj.  It  is  budded  and 
grafted  like  the  apple,  and  requires  the  same  treatment;  it  is  as 
easy  of  propagation,  attains  a  greater  size  and  age,  and  although 
longer  arriving  to  maturity,  it  is  a  more  abundant  bearer.  Its 
favorite  soil  is  a  clay  loam.  It  needs  little  pruning,  as  it  usually 
throws  out  an  upright,  graceful  head,  free  from  excessive  bushi- 
ness.  The  trees  may  be  planted  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet  apart, 
an  abundance  of  sun  being  requisite  to  full  bearing,  and  the  per- 
fection  of  the  fruit. 

Diseases. — The  pear  is  seldom  subject  to  more  than  one  for- 
midable disease,  the  fire  bhght,  and  to  this  some  localities  are 
more  subject  than  others.  The  disease  manifests  itself  generally 
in  midsummer,  in  the  sudden  withering  of  the  leaves  on  one  or 
more  branches.  The  only  effectual  remedy  is  to'  cut  off  and  burn 
the  diseased  limb  immediately  on  its  discovery.  The  causes  are 
imperfectly  known,  but  it  has  been  variously  ascribed  to  the 
presence  of  minute  insects,  to  the  abundant  flow  of  sap,  and  to 
the  severity  of  the  winter,  yet  with  an  entire  uncertainty  of  any 
truth  in  the  supposition. 

CoLLECTTNO  AND  PRESERVING  THE  FRUIT. — The  pcars  in- 
tended for  market  or  for  long  keeping,  should  be  hand-picked 
and  laid  in  a  cool  place;  and  when  perfectly  dry,  put  up  in  casks 
like  apples.  "Winter  pears  should  be  packed  for  preservation 
like  winter  apples. 

The  VARIETIES  to  be  selected  depends  entirely  on  the  object 
of  their  cultivation.  For  market,  the  best  and  most  popular 
kinds  only  should  be  chosen,  and  for  family  use,  an  equally  good 
selection  should  be  made  of  those  running  throughout  the  entire 
season. 

We  name  in  their  order  of  ripening,  a  dozen  choice  kinds,  the 
cultivation  of  which  has  thus  far  been  thoroughly  successful,  and 
the  qualities  universally  approved.  The  most  of  these  are  pears 
of  American  origin,  which  are  to  be  preferred  as  promising  more 
durabihty,  hardiness,  and  perfect  adaptation  to  our  cHmate  and 
soils.    Among  these  may  be  named  for 


228 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


Summer  and  early  Autumn, — Bloodgood,  Osband's  Summer, 
Dearborn's  Seedling,  Bartlett. 

Autumn. — Beurre  Diel,  Buffum,  Sheldon,  Duchess  D'Angou- 
leme,  Seckel,  Louise-bonne-de-Jersey. 

Winter. — Beurre  D'A.reinberg,  Winter  NeHs. 

There  are,  however,  various  other  kinds,  perhaps  equally  good, 
according  to  the  locahty  on  which  they  may  be  planted.  Indeed, 
the  varieties  of  good  pears  are  very  numerous,  and  any  one  who 
intends  to  make  pears  a  specialty  in  cultivation,  should  possess 
himself  of  a  competent  authority,  and  study  and  practice  its 
teachings  closely  for  success. 

In  view  of  the  ravaging  effects  of  the  blight,  we  can  hardly 
recommend  an  extensive  cultivation  of  the  pear  as  a  certain  and 
permanent  crop.  Still,  as  a  variety  of  choice,  and  delicious  fruit, 
every  farmer,  where  his  soil,  climate,  and  locahty  are  favorable, 
should  plant  a  few  approved  varieties. 

The  quince  stock  has  been  largely  used  of  late  years  to  grow 
dwarf  pear  trees,  by  budding  the  pear  on  its  root  at  the  surface 
of  the  ground.  This  method  induces  an  earher  bearing  by  some 
years  than  the  pear  on  its  own  stock.  But  their  growth,  usu- 
ally, is  not  long  lived,  the  quince  being  a  different,  and  close 
grained  wood,  with  more  or  less  incompatibility  to  connect  with 
the  more  vigorous  character  of  the  pear.  Yet  the  mode  has 
been  attended  at  times  with  considerable  success,  and  at  others 
with  disastrous  failures.  We  cannot  commend  dwarfing  the 
pear  on  the  quince  beyond  a  limited  extent. 

THE  QUINCE. 

This  is  also  a  valuable  market  fruit.  It  makes  a  rich,  highly 
flavored  sweetmeat,  and  to  this  use  it  is  entirely  limited.  The 
tree  is  easily  raised  by  suckers  and  the  cuttings,  and  should  be 
planted  fifteen  feet  apart,  in  a  rich,  warm,  heavy  soil,  (a  clayey 
loam  is  the  best,)  rather  moist,  and  in  a  sunny  exposure  where 
it  "ssrill  be  well  sheltered  from  severe  and  cold  winds.  The  wash 
of  ^  b^rn-yard  is  its  best  i^xanure,  and  it  repays  equally  with  the 


FRUITS. 


229 


apple,  for  good  cultivation.  The  fruit  is  large,  sometimes  weigh- 
ing a  pound,  of  a  rich  yellow  color,  and  generally  free  from 
worms  and  other  imperfections.  Its  chief  enemy  is  the  horer^ 
which  in  many  instances  has  been  most  destructive.  It  ripens 
in  October  and  November.  The  orange  quince  is  the  best 
variety  for  common  cultivation.  The  tree  requires  but  Httle 
pruning.  The  trunk  may  be  entire  for  two  or  three  feet,  or 
branch  from  the  ground  by  two  or  more  stems.  The  top  should 
be  kept  open  to  admit  the  sun  and  air,  and  the  trunk  freed  from 
suckers.    So  treated,  it  will  live  long  and  produce  abundantly. 

THE  CHERRY. 

Aside  from  the  value  of  its  fruit,  the  cherry  is  an  ornamental 
shade  tree,  hardy  and  vigorous  in  its  growth,  and  easy  of  propa- 
gation. It  should  be  planted  like  the  apple.  For  culinary 
purposes,  the  common  red  cherry  is  perhaps  the  best.  This  may 
stand  sixteen  to  twenty  feet  apart,  according  to  soil  and  situation. 
The  large  Hazard  or  the  English  cherry  requires  more  room,  and 
if  on  a  deep,  warm,  sandy  loam,  its  favorite  soil,  it  should  be 
planted  two  rods  apart,  as  it  grows  to  a  large  size.  It  will  flour- 
ish luxuriantly  on  a  clay  loam,  if  well  drained,  or  on  an  open 
gravel,  provided  the  soil  be  rich  and  deep;  but  on  these  it 
demands  more  careful  cultivation.  It  seldom  requires  much 
pruning.  Care  must  be  used  with  this  as  with  all  other  fruit 
trees,  to  give  it  an  open  head  and  to  keep  the  limbs  from  cross- 
ing and  chafing  each  other.  The  varieties  most  in  use  are  the 
Common  Red  Kentish  or  Pie  Cherry,  with  which  every  one  is 
familiar,  the  English  Mayduke,  Black  Tartarian,  Bigarreau, 
(Graffion  or  Yellow  Spanish,)  the  large  Red  Bigarreau,  Elton, 
Elkhorn,  (latest  and  best  of  all,  we  think,)  and  several  other 
approved  varieties,  which  will  readily  be  found  on  consulting  the 
fruit  books  and  nurserymen.  These  wijl  form  a  succession  of  six 
weeks  in  ripening,  and  embrace  the  entire  cherry  season.  The 
cherry  is  remarkably  free  from  disease,  and  it  usually  requires  but 
ordinary  care  in  its  cultivation. 


230 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


THE  PLUM. 

In  its  superior  varieties  this  is  a  delicious  fruit,  and  is  generally 
easily  cultivated.    It  prefers  a  strong  clay  loam,  but  does  well  in 
any  ordinary  ground  except  a  light  sand.    It  should  be  planted 
like  the  apple,  though  on  a  smaller  scale,  as  it  has  a  smaller  and 
less  vigorous  growth.    The  proper  distance  is  sixteen  to  twenty 
feet  apart.    There  are  two  formidable  impediments  in  the  culti- 
vation of  the  plum.    One  is  the  black  knot,  or  woody  fungus, 
which  bursts  the  bark  on  the  body,  branches  and  twigs  of  the 
tree.    This  is  followed  by  a  large  swelling  or  excrescence,  and  if 
suffered  to  remain,  will  soon  destroy  its  productiveness.  The 
best  and  surest  remedy  is  to  cut  off  the  branch  at  once  and  burn 
it.    The  CurcuUo  commits  its  depredations  on  the  young  fruit 
soon  after  the  blossoms  disappear.    These  are  frequently  so 
destructive  as  to  kill  the  fruit  of  an  entire  orchard.  Several 
methods  of  destroying  them  have  been  suggested,  of  which  the 
most  simple  and  effectual  is,  to  plant  the  trees  in  such  places  as 
will  admit  the  swine  and  poultry  to  feed  upon  the  fallen  fruit  and 
insects.    Salt  sprinkled  around  the  tree  in  the  spring  is  said  to 
destroy  them.    The  smoke  of  rotten  wood,  leaves  and  rubbish 
which  has  been  burned  under  the  trees  when  in  blossom  has 
sometimes  proved  beneficial.    Paving  the  earth  under  the  hmbs 
has  been  said  to  prevent  the  burrowing  of  the  insects.  Some 
other  remedies  are  recommended,  such  as  spreading  white  cotton 
sheets  on  the  ground  underneath,  and  suddenly  jarring  the  body 
of  the  tree  that  the  insects  may  fall ;  and  then  gathering  the  cloths 
together  and  immersing  them  in  hot  water  to  kill  them.  This 
must  be  a  daily  work,  done  early  in  the  morning  when  the  insects 
are  stiff  from  the  cool  dews.    It  is  of  course,  a  work  of  labor,  but 
is  said  to  be  effectual  when  vigilantly  practiced.    The  pig  and 
chicken  remedy  we  consider  much  cheaper,  and  usually  effectual, 
and  for  such  purpose  these  scavengers  should,  if  possible,  be  con- 
fined within  the  boundaries  of  the  plum  orchard. 

Varieties. — The  common  blue  or  horse  plum  is  cultivated  in 
numerous  sub-varieties.    Some  of  these  are  very  good,  others 


FRUITS. 


231 


utterly  worthless.  Good  plums  are  as  easily  raised  as  poor  ones. 
Young  trees  bearing  an  indifferent  fruit,  can  be  headed  down 
and  grafted  as  readily  as  apples,  but  this  requires  to  be  done  a 
month  earlier  in  the  spring  and  before  the  buds  begin  to  swell. 
The  best  kinds  are  the  Lombard,  the  Yellow,  Green,  Autumn, 
Bleecker's,  Imperial,  Prince's  Yellow,  Frost,  Purple,  and  the  Red 
Gages,  Coe's  Golden  Drop,  the  Jefferson,  the  Orange,  the  Wash- 
ington, the  Columbia,  Smith's  Orleans,  and  the  Bed  and  White 
Magnum  Bonums. 

These  last  two  varieties  are  more  liable  to  the  attacks  of  the 
circulio  than  many  others.  But  their  vigorous  growth,  great  pro- 
ductiveness when  not  attacked,  and  excellent  quality  for  preserv- 
ing, render  them  desirable  fruits.  For  drying,  the  German  prune 
is  perhaps  the  best,  although  several  of  the  plums  above  named 
answer  an  excellent  purpose.  We  have  enumerated  a  larger 
variety  of  plums,  from'the  difficulty  in  our  northern  climates  gen- 
erally of  cultivating  the  peach,  which  ripens  nearly  at  the  same 
time,  and  although  not  so  delicious  a  fruit,  the  plum  is  a  valuable 
substitute  for  it.  It  is  a  more  durable  tree  though  liable  to  sev- 
eral diseases,  and  its  cultivation  is  comparatively  easy. 

THE  PEACH. 

This  fruit  on  virgin  soils  and  in  the  early  settlement  of  our 
country,  was  one  of  the  easiest  of  propagation  and  most  abundant 
in  its  bearing,  but  it  is  now  the  most  uncertain  in  its  maturity  and 
the  shortest  lived  of  all.  So  liable  is  it  to  casualties,  as  to  have 
become  almost  entirely  discarded  in  large  sections  of  the  United 
States,  where  it  once  flourished  in  the  highest  perfection.  It  is 
now  generally  reared  on  an  extensive  scale  for  market,  by  those 
who  make  it  an  exclusive  business. 

Its  favorite  soil  is  a  light,  warm,  sandy  or  gravelly  loam, 
in  a  sunny  exposure,  protected  from  severe  bleak  winds.  Thus 
situated,  and  in  favorable  latitudes,  it  often  flourishes  in  luxuriance, 
and  produces  the  most  luscious  fruit.  In  portions  of  Western 
New  York,  and  on  the  southern  borders  of  Lake  Erie,  and  the 


232 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


east  shore  of  Lake  Michigan,  south  of  latitude  43°,  the  peach 
grows  more  vigorously,  and  lives  longer  than  in  any  other  sections 
of  the  United  States,  frequently  lasting  twenty  or  thirty  years, 
and  bearing  constantly  and  in  abundance.  Peaches  are  produced 
in  immense  quantities  in  the  States  of  New  Jersey  and  Delaware, 
on  the  hght  soils  near  the  Atlantic  coast,  for  the  large  city  mar- 
kets, and  in  those  States  the  crop  of  a  single  proprietor  often 
amounts  to  $5,000,  and  sometimes  exceeds  $20,000  annually. 
None  but  the  choicest  kinds  are  cultivated,  and  these  are  inocu- 
lated into  the  seedling  when  a  year  old.  They  are  transplanted 
at  two  and  three,  and  are  worn  out,  cut  down  and  burned  at  the 
age  of  from  six  to  twelve  years.  The  proper  distance  at  which 
they  should  be  planted  is  sixteen  to  twenty  feet  apart,  according 
to  situation,  soil  and  exposure.  Constant  cultivation  of  the 
ground,  without  cropping,  is  necessary  for  their  best  growth  and 
bearing. 

Diseases. — It  is  liable  to  many  diseases  and  to  the  depreda- 
tions of  numerous  enemies.  The  yellows  is  its  most  fatal  disease, 
and  this  can  only  be  checked  by  the  immediate  removal  of  the 
diseased  tree  from  the  orchard.  Of  the  insects^  the  grub  or  peach 
worm  is  the  most  destructive.  It  punctures  the  bark,  and  lays 
its  egg  beneath  it  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  when  discovered 
it  should  be  killed  with  a  penknife  or  pointed  wire.  A  good 
preventive  is  to  form  a  cone  of  earth  a  foot  high  around  the 
trunk  about  the  first  of  June;  or  if  made  of  leached  ashes  it 
would  be  better.  Remove  this  heap  in  October,  and  the  bark 
will  harden  below  the  reach  of  the  fly  the  following  year. 

Varieties. — The  best  kinds  in  succession  from  early  to  late, 
are  Hale's  Early,  Red  and  Yellow  Rareripes,  Crawford's  Early, 
and  Late  Malacatune,  Early  York,  Early  Tillotson,  George  the 
Fourth,  Morris  Red,  and  White  Rareripes,  and  Royal  George. 
These  succeed  each  other  from  August  to  October. 

The  Apricot  and  Nectarine. — These  are  of  the  peach 
family,  but  generally  inferior  as  a  fruit  and  much  more  difficult 
of  cultivation,  being  more  liable  to  casualties  and  insects.  They 


FRUITS. 


233 


require  the  same  kind  of  soil  and  cultivation  as  the  peach,  with  a 
warm  exposure.  As  they  are  propagated  solely  as  an  article  of 
luxury,  and  are  not  wanted  for  general  use,  we  omit  further  notice 
of  them. 

THE  GRAPE. 

The  details  for  the  proper  rearing  of  this  fruit  demand  a  volume, 
but  we  can  only  refer  to  some  prominent  points  in  its  cultivation. 
It  grows  wild  in  abundance,  and  of  tolerable  quality  in  many 
parts  of  the  United  States,  climbing  over  trees,  rocks  and  fences 
in  great  luxuriance.  We  have  seen  in  the  Eastern  States  a  dozen 
native  varieties  of  white,  black  and  purple,  of  different  sizes, 
shapes  and  flavor,  growing  within  the  space  of  a  single  furlong. 
The  more  choice  and  dehcate  European,  or  house  grapes,  must 
have  protection  in  winter  and  glass  heat  in  summer,  and  are 
therefore  better  suited  to  large  towns,  or  to  a  well  arranged  con- 
servatory. The  usually  cultivated  field  grapes  of  Europe,  as  a 
rule,  do  not  succeed  in  America.  They  have  for  many  years 
been  thoroughly  tried,  and  thrown  out  as  failures.  They  mildew 
almost  without  exception. 

The  grape  has,  within  the  last  twenty  years,  become  so  widely 
propagated  in  the  Middle  and  Northern  States,  from  the  Atlantic 
seaboard  to  the  Missouri  river,  below  latitude  43°,  and  in  some 
particular  localities  above,  as  to  have  become  a  distinct  item  of 
culture,  and  management.  Large  vineyards  have  been  planted, 
and  are  in  successful  cultivation;  thousands  of  tons  of  the  fruit 
are  raised,  shipped  to  our  large  market  cities  and  towns  and  sold, 
so  that  they  have  become  almost  as  famihar  as  apples,  and  millions 
of  gallons  of  excellent  wine  from  the  vineyards  are  made,  sold, 
and  consumed  by  our  population.  So  absorbed  have  the  grape 
propagators  become  in  their  culture  that  several  valuable  books 
and  treatises  have  been  written  and  published  on  vineyards, 
grapes,  and  wine  making,  and  scores  of  new  and  valuable  native 
varieties  produced,  suited  to  our  different  climates,  positions,  and 
soils.    And  so  easy  and  simple  has  their  cultivation  become,  that 


234 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


every  farmer  and  cottager,  in  a  favorable  locality,  may  sit  under 
his  own  vine  and  enjoy  its  fruit  in  abundance. 

California  has  long  been  a  paradise  of  the  grape,  containing 
extensive  vineyards,  with  great  yields  of  wine.  It  will  probably 
become  one  of  the  most  productive  wine  countries  in  the  world. 

Soil. — Any  good  soil,  well  drained^  artificially,  if  not  so  in  its 
own  formation,  and  in  a  fair  exposure,  from  a  stiff  clay,  to  almost 
a  drifting  sand,  will  produce  the  grape  of  approved  varieties  (when 
they  are  such  as  will  ripen  between  its  spring  and  autumn  frosts,) 
in  perfection.  In  culttire  they  are  not  difficult,  needing  only  to 
be  kept  free  from  weeds  and  other  herbage,  properly  trained  on 
stakes,  or  trellises,  and  well  pruned. 

Varieties. — These  are  getting  to  be  so  extensive — ^new  kinds 
of  good  quality  being  frequently  originated  and  hrought  to  notice 
— that  it  is  impossible  to  enumerate  the  best  for  general  use,  as 
many  of  the  varieties  seem  more  or  less  partial  to  special  locah- 
ties,  and  the  purposes,  either  for  the  table,  or  wine,  for  which 
they  are  needed.  As  early  fruits,  the  Hartford  Prolific,  Concord, 
Delaware,  Israella ;  for  the  medium  season,  the  Diana,  Clinton, 
lona,  and  some  others;  for  the  later  season,  the  Isabella,  Catawba 
and  others,  are  already  well  estabhshed,  thoroughly  tried,  and  of 
unimpeachable  excellence,  as  both  table  and  wine  fruits.  In  the 
selection  of  these,  or  still  other  varieties  for  either  use,  the  cultiva- 
tor must  judge  from  his  own  stand-point;  yet  the  various  kinds 
are  now  so  generally  cultivated  by  the  nurserymen  that  the 
planter  need  be  at  no  loss  in  his  selections.  "We  trust  that  the 
time  is  not  far  distant  when  the  lighter  wines  can  be  made  by  the 
farmer  and  cottager  for  their  own  uses  as  readily  and  freely  as 
cider  is  now  made  by  the  orchardist,  and  the  fruit  kept  for  winter 
use,  as  easily  as  apples.  Twelve  pounds  of  grapes  will  make  a 
gallon  of  wine,  and  with  little  more  labor  or  expense  than  to  pro- 
duce good  cider  from  apples,  and  in  much  less  time  from  planting. 

Every  one  intending  to  cultivate  the  grape  to  any  extent,  or 
even  a  few  vines  for  family  use,  will  be  well  repaid  in  getting  a 
treatise  on  their  culture,  and  thoroughly  studying  it.  They  may 
be  obtained  at  almost  any  of  the  bookstores. 


FRUITS. 


235 


THE  CURRANT 

Is  the  first  in  importance  of  the  small  garden  fruits.  It  is  a 
delicious  and  wholesome  tart  on  the  table  in  its  ripe  and  raw 
condition,  when  sprinkled  with  sugar,  and  valuable  in  cookery, 
for  pies  and  preserves.  It  grows  with  the  greatest  certainty 
and  luxuriance,  either  from  the  suckers,  or  cuttings.  The  soil 
should  be  deep,  rich,  and  well  worked,  the  bushes  set  fuU  four 
feet  apart,  that  the  air  may  pass  freely  through  them,  and  the 
wood  properly  thinned  to  promote  good  bearing.  The  large  Red 
Dutch,  Cherry,  and  Yersellaise,  are  the  best  of  the  tart  or  red 
varieties,  and  the  large  White  Dutch  or  Grape,  the  best  of  the  sweet 
or  whites.  The  English,  and  Naples,  are  the  best  black  varieties ; 
not  much  esteemed  for  the  table,  but  excellent  for  jellies,  and 
most  grateful  in  sickness,  and  for  invalids.  There  are  some  other 
varieties  in  cultivation,  but  those  named  comprise  all  the  good 
qualities  which  are  necessary  in  the  fruit. 

Currants  should  not  be  planted  under  fences,  and  in  out  of  the 
way  places  where  they  are  subject  to  the  annoyance  of  noxious 
weeds  and  vermin,  as  is  too  often  the  case,  but  stand  out  in  the 
clear,  open  sunshine  where  they  can  receive  cultivation.  They 
are  as  much  better  for  it  as  any  other  fruits.  Of  late  years  they 
have  been  attacked  with  a  most  destructive  slug  or  worm,  which 
destroys  the  leaves  just  before  the  fruit  ripens,  thus  cutting  off 
the  crop,  and  shortly  killing  the  shrubs.  "We  trust  that  this  new 
insect  may  prove  only  migratory  and  pass  away.  The  applica- 
tion of  powdered  hellebore  on  both  sides  of  the  leaves  when  the 
dew  is  on,  or  moistened  by  rains,  has  in  many  instances  proved 
effective  against  their  ravages.  Wood,  and  coal  ashes,  and  slaked 
lime  freely  spread  over  them  or  strewn  under  the  shoots  and 
around  the  roots,  have  also  answered  a  good  purpose. 

THE  GOOSEBERRY, 

This  has  been  considerably  cultivated  in  our  gardens,  but  it  is 
an  indifferent  fruit.     The  English  varieties,  which  produce  tlie 


236 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


largest  fruits,  mildew  badly  in  our  American  climate  by  reason 
of  the  extreme  summer  heats,  and  our  native  varieties,  although 
less  liable  to  mildew,  have  little  merit,  being  small  in  size,  and 
lacking  flavor;  yet  many  people  are  partial' to  them. 

As  a  tart  for  cooking,  the  gooseberry  is  far  inferior  to  the 
Rhubarh  or  Pie-plant,  which  is  grown  with  httle  trouble  or 
expense  in  a  rich  soil,  and  is  in  season  from  May  until  October. 

The  best  of  the  many  varieties  which  we  have  cultivated,  is 
the  Linnoeus,  being  both  early  and  late,  of  large  size,  and  deli- 
cate flavor. 

THE  RASPBERRY, 

A  most  wholesome,  grateful,  and  palatable  fruit  to  the  taste, 
and  growing,  in  its  native  black  and  red  varieties,  profusely  in 
many  parts  of  the  country,  in  the  edges  of  woods,  along  fences, 
stone  walls,  and  other  waste  places,  is  altogether  too  luscious  and 
valuable  to  be  abandoned  to  such  precarious  gatherings.  It  is 
worthy  a  place  and  cultivation  in  the  garden,  or  special  planta- 
tions, either  for  household  supply,  or  the  market.  Although  many 
foreign  kinds  have  been  introduced  here,  the  new  American 
varieties  have  proved,  in  a  general  way,  the  best. 

The  American  Black  Caps,  of  which  there  are  now  several 
varieties,  all  derived  from  native  wildings,  are,  perhaps,  of  all 
others  the  most  successful  and  hardy.  Among  these  are  the 
Doohttle,  Miami,  Thornless,  and  some  others.  They  are  pro- 
pagated from  the  ends  or  tops  of  the  current  season's  growth, 
bent  to  the  ground  and  shghtly  covered,  where  they  strike  root, 
and  make  new  plants  for  setting  the  next  spring. 

Among  the  suchering  varieties  of  red  color,  the  Franconia,  said 
to  be  foreign,  is  an  excellent,  hardy,  and  prolific  kind.  There 
are  other  native  red,  purple  and  yellow  kinds,  some  of  them  not 
always  hardy  against  our  winters,  without  bending  down  and 
covering  with  earth,  an  expensive  process.  Yet  there  are  other 
good  and  hardy  ones,  easy  to  be  obtained,  as  the  Philadelphia, 
Clarke,  etc.,  of  excellent  bearing  and  flavor.    These  all  grow 


FRUITS. 


237 


from  the  suckers,  and  are  easily  propagated.  The  Orange 
(Brinckle's)  is  perhaps  the  highest  flavored  of  all,  but  requires  a 
rich  soil  and  winter  covering  to  be  successful. 

They  should  be  planted  four  to  six  feet  apart,  in  stools,  and 
cut  back  to  three  or  four  feet  high  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  the 
past  bearing  wood  cut  out,  and  but  four  or  five  canes  left  for  the 
next  bearing  season.  The  tops  of  these  should  be  brought 
together  the  next  spring  and  tied  with  twine,  when  they  will 
stand  without  further  support.  They  should  be  lightly  plowed, 
or  cultivated  between  the  rows,  and  kept  free  of  weeds.  In  this 
way  they  will  yield  bountiful  crops  and  well  pay  for  cultivation. 
If  intended  for  market,  the  market  should  be  near,  as  being  a 
hollow  fruit,  they  cannot  bear  distant  transportation. 

THE  BLACKBERRY. 

This,  also,  is  a  wild  native  fruit,  growing  like  the  raspberry, 
in  waste  places,  and  much  better  and  more  desirable  when  in 
garden  cultivation.  There  are  several  varieties,  the  best  of 
them  of  recent  introduction.  The  New  Rochelle,  or  Lawton, 
has  maintained  considerable  celebrity,  but  is  now  somewhat 
superceded  by  newer  and  better  kinds.  It  grows  rank  and  high, 
is  a  prodigious  bearer  of  large  berries,  very  tart  in  flavor,  good 
for  canning,  but  requires  much  sugar  in  cooking,  or  for  the 
table.  The  wood  lacks  in  hardiness,  in  some  localities,  being 
apt  to  winter  kill,  when  exposed,  and  difficult  to  protect.  The 
Wilson  is  better  in  flavor  and  earlier  in  ripening.  So  also  is  the 
Dorchester,  and  particularly  the  Kittatinney,  these  several  vari- 
eties being  hardy,  and  continuing,  through  them  all,  five  or  six 
weeks  in  bearing. 

These  varieties  all  sucker  from  the  root,  come  up  new  in 
sprouts  the  first  year,  bearing  the  next,  and  dying,  to  be  cut  out 
and  give  place  to  the  younger  canes.  They  are  an  excellent 
fruit  for  family  use,  and  profitable  for  market,  bearing  longer 
transportation  than  the  raspberry,  being  a  solid  fruit.  Like  the 
raspberry,  they  dry  and  cook  well  for  winter  use. 


238 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


THE  STRAWBERRY, 

Is  perhaps  the  choicest,  and  most  highly  prized,  as  a  luxury, 
of  all  the  small  garden  fruits.  It  is  wholesome  in  its  use,  exqui- 
site to  the  taste,  with  the  addition  of  sugar,  good  in  every  con- 
dition, for  the  table  in  its  raw  state,  and  cooking  into  every 
choice  sort  of  preservation  that  the  cunning  housewife  can 
invent. 

Thirty  or  forty  years  ago  it  was  only  a  fruit  of  the  fields  and 
meadows,  delicious  in  taste,,  small  in  size,  scarce  to  be  obtained, 
and  highly  prized.  Now  it  is  as  common  in  our  gardens  as  any 
other  fruit,  and  in  numerous  variety,  sold  extensively  in  our 
markets,  and  used  by  almost  everybody.  They  are  all  derived 
from  foreign  and  native  seedlings.  Kinds  a  few  years  ago  highly 
prized,  have  since  been  thrown  out  as  unworthy  of  cultivation, 
and  now  supplanted  by  new  and  choicer  ones. 

We  might  name  perhaps  twenty  varieties  now  highly  ap- 
proved in  various  locahties,  but  subject  to  be  changed  at  any 
time  for  newer,  and  possibly  better,  so  rapidly  do  they  come  into 
cultivation.  "Were  we  to  name  them,  before  our  words  are  five 
years  old,  they  might  be  out  of  date  for  something  more  fasMon- 
able,  although  hardly  better. 

They  thrive  in  any  good  garden,  or  even  field  soil,  where 
other  dry  land  crops  grow,  but  need  good,  and  deep,  and  clean 
cultivation.  They  should  be  planted  in  separate  hills,  or  rows, 
two  to  three  feet  apart,  and  a  foot  apart  in  the  rows,  the  runners 
cut  off  till  past  fruiting,  when  they  may  be  suffered  to  run  for 
new  plants  which  are  to  take  the  place  of  the  older  ones  after 
two  years  bearing. 

When  the  new  plants  are  fit  for  bearing,  the  old  ones  should 
be  spaded  or  plowed  under,  that  the  younger  ones  may  bear  in 
their  turn,  to  undergo  the  same  process  afterwards.  There  are 
different  ways  of  cultivation,  some  preferring  to  keep  them  apart 
in  hills,  which  perhaps  give  the  largest  fruits,  while  others  let 
them  run  together,  and  when  past  bearing,  turn  under  the  entire 
beds  and  resort  to  new  plantations.    In  such  cases  the  new 


FRUITIS. 


239 


beds  should  be  planted  the  previous  year,  to  produce  continuous 

crops.  1  .  r 

We  do  not  name  the  varieties  in  common  cultivation,  tor 
reasons  before  stated,  but  any  one  proposing  to  cultivate  the 
fruit,  cannot  be  at  a  loss,  on  consulting  the  hundreds  of  adver- 
tisements in  the  agricultural  and  garden  periodicals,  and  the 
strawberry  growers  in  his  immediate  vicinity,  what  to  select  for 
his  own  immediate  use. 

THE  BARBERRY.  • 

This  is  a  wild  American  fruit,  very  common  in  the  New  Eng- 
land States,  where  it  grows  luxuriantly  in  the  poorest  sandy, 
gravelly,  and  stony  soils.  It  attains  a  growth  of  eight  or  ten 
feet  high  from  a  compact  fibrous  root,  does  not  sucker,  and  is 
readily  raised  from  the  seed.  The  wood  has  a  beautiful,  small, 
light  green,  oval  leaf,  borne  on  upright,  and  when  in  fruit,  some- 
what bending  and  graceful  shoots,  giving  them  a  finely  orna- 
mental appearance.  The  fruit  is  grown  from  a  light  yellow 
blossom,  and  hangs  pendulous  in  numerous  berries,  on  a  stem  of 
three  or  four  inches  in  length,  long  oval  in  shape,  and  a  brilliant 
scarlet  in  color.  It  ripens  about  the  time  of  the  early  frosts  and 
will  remain  some  weeks,  the  succeeding  frosts,  if  not  too  severe, 
adding  to  their  flavor  and  ripeness. 

The  fruit  is  tart,  and  piquant  in  flavor,  making,  with  sugar,  a 
delicious  jelly,  or  jam,  most  grateful  to  the  palate  in  health,  as 
weU  as  in  sickness  where  fever  affects  the  system.  It  makes  also 
a  most  palatable  summer  drink,  with  water,  equal  to  shrub,  or 
lemonade. 

The  barberry  makes  a  fine,  ornamental  hedge  for  a  garden,  or 
lawn,  suficiently  strong  and  compact,  when  grown,  and  with  its 
small  sharp  spikes  will  turn  all  ordinary  animals.  It  has  a 
rapid  growth,  and  starts  out  strongly  from  the  root  without 
underground  running  suckers.  It  also  forms  a  graceful  clump  of 
shrubbery,  when  planted  in  single  roots,  for  the  lawn,  and  with 
its  bright  scarlet  fruit,  there  are  few,  even  of  the  more  valued 
exotic  shrubs  that  excel  it. 


240 


AMKRICAN  AGRICULTUKE. 


It  is  easily  raised  from  the  seed,  in  nursery  rows,  on  almost 
any  land,  not  wet.  We  decidedly  commend  the  barberry  for 
limited  cultivation. 

THE  AMERICAN  CRi>TBERRY,  (OXYCOO'US  MACROOARPUS,) 

Yields  one  of  the  most  delicious  of  our  tart  esculents.  It  is 
found  in  great  abundance  in  many  low,  swampy  grounds  in  our 
Northern  and  Western  States;  and  although  it  has  been  gath- 
ered from  it^ative  haunts  from  the  earhest  settlement  of  the 
country,  yet  it  is  only  within  a  few  years  that  it  has  become  an 
object  of  cultivation.  Experience,  after  many  years'  trial,  has 
developed  the  certain  means  of  attaining  the  greatest  success, 
and  enough  is  already  known,  to  assume  that  they  are  a  profit- 
able object  of  attention  to  the  farmer. 

Soil  and  Cultivation.— They  are  generally  planted  on  low, 
moist  meadows  which  are  prepared  by  thoroughly  taking  out  all 
aquatic  or  other  shrubs  or  trees,  filling  in  with  gravel  where 
needing  it,  and  plowing  and  harrowing.  They  are  then  set  in 
drills  by  shps  and  roots,  usually  in  the  spring,  but  sometimes  in 
autumn,  about  twenty  inches  apart  and  at  distances  of  about 
three  inches.  They  require  to  have  the  weeds  kept  out  and  the 
ground  stirred  with  a  light  cultivator  or  hoe,  and  they  wiU  soon 
overrun  and  occupy  the  whole  ground.  An  occasional  top 
dressing  of  swamp  muck  is  beneficial.  Cultivators  in  Massachu- 
setts, have  in  this  way,  produced  at  the  rate  of  three  hundred 
bushels  per  acre,  which  were  worth  in  the  market  from  two  to 
four  dollars  per  bushel. 

This  fruit  is  now  cultivated  largely  in  the  marshes  of  New 
Jersey,  wide  tracts  of  which  have  been  reclaimed  and  devoted 
to  its  culture.    It  is  a  sure  and  progressive  crop  in  our  country. 

The  cranberry  is  sometimes  killed  by  late  or  early  frosts,  and 
it  has  been  suggested,  that  these  might  be  avoided  by  having 
the  fields  so  arranged  when  they  may  be  expected,  as  to  be 
shghtly  covered  with  water.  The  berries  are  gathered  when 
sufficiently  ripe,  by  raking  them  from  the  bushes.     They  are 


FKUITS. 


241 


cleaned  from  the  stems,  leaves,  and  imperfect  fruit,  by  washing 
and  rolling  them  over  smooth  boards  set  on  an  inclined  plane,  in 
the  same  manner  as  imperfect  shot  are  assorted.  After  this  they 
are  put  into  tight  casks  and  fOled  with  water.  If  stored  in  a 
cool  place,  the  water  changed  at  proper  intervals,  and  the  imper- 
fect berries  occasionaUy  thrown  out,  they  will  keep  till  the 
following  summer.  They  will  frequently  bring  $20  per  barrel 
in  European  markets.  The  raking  is  beneficial  rather  tlian 
otherwise  to  the  plants,  for  though  some  of  the  plants  are  pulled 
out  and  otherwise  broken,  their  places  are  more  than  supphed  by 
the  subsequent  growth. 

11 


CHAPTER  XI. 


MISCELLANEOUS  OBJECTS  OF  CULTIVATION. 


BROOM  CORN,  (sORGHUM  SACCHARATUM.) 

So  far  as  we  are  acquainted  witli  its  history,  this  is  a  product 
pecuhar  to  America.  In  its  early  growth  and  general  appear- 
ance it  resembles  Indian  corn.  It  stands  perfectly  upright  at  a 
height  of  eight  feet  or  more,  with  a  stalk  of  nearly  uniform  size 
throughout,  from  which  an  occasional  leaf  appears;  and  at  the 
top  a  long,  compact  bunch  of  slender,  graceful  stems  is  thrown 
out,  famiharly  termed  the  Irush,  which  sustains  the  seed.  An 
approved  dwarf  variety  has  lately  been  introduced.^ 

Soil.  The  best  soil  for  raising  broom  corn,  is  similar  to  that 

required  for  Indian  corn  or  maize.  It  should  be  rich,  warm, 
loamy  land,  not  hable  to  early  or  late  frosts.  Spring  frosts  injure 
broom  corn  more  than  maize,  as  the  roots  do  not  strike  so  deep, 
nor  has  it  the  power  of  recovering  from  the  effects  of  frost  equal 
to  the  latter.  The  best  crops  are  usuaUy  raised  on  a  green 
sward,  turned  over  as  late  as  possible  in  the  fall,  so  as  to  kill  the 
worms.  Clay  lands  are  not  suitable  for  it.  A  river  bottom  is 
best  of  all. 

Manure. — Hog  or  sheep  manure  is  best,  and  rotten  better 
than  unfermented.  If  the  land  is  in  good  condition,  three  cords, 
^  eight  loads  to  the  acre  is  sufficient.  This  is  usually  placed  in 
Mib^  and  twelve  to  fifteen  bushels  of  ashes  per  acre  may  be 
added  with  great  advantage.  Plaster  is  beneficial  at  the  rate  of 
two  to  four  bushels  per  acre.  The  addition  of  slacked  lime 
helps  the  ground,  affords  food  to  the  crop,  and  is  destructive  to 


BROOM  CORN. 


243 


worms.  Poudrette,  at  the  rate  of  a  gill  or  so  to  each  hill  at 
planting,  or  guano  at  the  rate  of  a  tablespoonful  per  hill,  if  the 
African,  or  two-thirds  the  quantity  if  Peruvian,  mixed  into  a 
compost  with  ten  times  its  quantity  of  good  soil,  is  an  exceUent 
apphcation;  especially  if  the  land  is  not  in  very  good  heart.  To 
repeat  either  of  the  above  around  the  stalks  on  each  hill  alter 
the  last  hoeing,  will  add  materially  to  the  crop. 

Planting.— It  should  be  planted  in  hills  three  feet  apart,  m 
rows  three  to  four  feet  distant.  If  the  seed  is  good,  ten  or  twelve 
seeds  to  a  hill  are  enough;  if  not,  put  in  sufBcient  to  insure  five 
or  six  thrifty  plants,  which  are  aU  that  require  to  be  left  for 
each  hill.  Time  of  planting  must  depend  on  climate  and  season. 
The  first  of  May  is  time  for  planting  in  latitude  40"^,  and  later  as 
the  season  occurs,  up  to  43°;  but  as  early  as  possible,  yet  late 
enough  to  escape  spring  frost  is  best.  The  ground  should  be 
thoroughly  harrowed  and  pulverized  before  planting.  Thick 
planting  gives  the  finest,  toughest  brush.  Seed  should  be  buried 
one  to  one  and  a  half  inches  deep. 

After  Culture. — As  soon  as  the  plants  are  visible,  run  a 
cultivator  between  the  rows,  and  follow  with  a  hand  hoe.  Many 
neglect  this  till  the  weeds  get  a  start,  which  is  highly  prejudicial 
to  the  crop.    The  cultivator  or  a  hght  plow  should  be  used  after- 
wards, followed  with  a  hoe,  and  may  be  repeated  four  or  five 
times  with  advantage.    Breaking  the  tops  should  be  done  before 
fully  ripe,  or  when  the  seed  is  a  little  past  the  milk;  or  if  frost 
appears,  then  immediately  after  it.     This  is  done  by  bending 
over  the  tops  of  the  rows  towards  each  other,  for  the  con- 
venience of  cutting  afterwards.     They  should  be  broken  some 
thirteen  inches  below  the  brush,  and  allowed  to  hang  till  fully 
ripe,  when  it  may  be  cut  and  carried  under  cover,  and  spread 
till  thoroughly  dried.    The  stalks  remaining  on  the  ground  may 
be  cut  close  or  pulled  up  and  buried  in  the  fiirrows  for  manure 
or  burnt,  and  thus  be  restored  to  the  earth  to  enrich  it;  or  they 
may  be  carried  to*  the  barn-yard  to  mix  in  a  compost,  or  with 
the  droppings  of  the  cattle. 


244 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


Cleaning  the  Brush.— This  is  done  hj  hand,  by  passing 
it  through  a  kind  of  hetchel,  made  by  setting  iipright  knives 
near  enough  together,  or  it  may  be  cleaned  by  a  long  toothed 
currycomb.  By  the  firs^  method  none  of  the  little  branches  are 
broken,  and  the  brush  makes  a  finer,  better  broom.  Horse 
power  machines  are  frequently  used  for  cleaning  the  seed,  which 
they  do  with  great  rapidity.  The  average  yield  is  about  five 
hundred  pounds  of  brush  per  acre.  '  It  varies  according  to  season 
and  soil,  from  three  hundred  to  one  thousand  pounds.  The  price 
also  varies  materially,  depending  on  the  extent  of  the  crop  and 
demand.  A  good  crop  of  seed  is  obtained  in  the  Connecticut 
valley  about  two  years  out  of  five.  When  well  matured,  the 
seed  will  average  three  to  five  pounds,  for  every  pound  of  the 
brush.  A  single  acre  has  produced  one  hundred  bushels  seed, 
though  twenty-five  to  fifty  is  a  more  common  yield.  It  weighs 
about  forty  pounds  per  bushel. 

The  uses  of  broom  corn  are  limited  to  the  manufacture  of 
brooms  from  the  brush,  and  the  consumption  of  the  seed  when 
ground  and  mixed  with  other  grain,  in  feeding  to  fattening  or 
working  cattle,  sheep  and  swine,  and  occasionally  to  horses. 
Brooms  manufactured  from  it,  have  superceded  every  other  kind 
for  general  use  in  the  United  States,  and  within  a  few  years  they 
have  become  an  article  of  extensive  export  to  England  and 
other  countries.  The  brush,  and  wood  ior  the  handles,  are 
imported  separately  to  avoid  high  duties,  and  are  there  put 
together,  and  form  a  profitable  branch  of  agricultural  commerce 
to  those  hitherto  engaged  in  the  traffic.  The  cultivation  of 
broom  corn  has,  till  quite  recently,  been  almost  exclusively  con- 
fined to  the  North-eastern  States,  but  it  is  now  largely  raised  in 
the  "Western  States.  Their  fresh,  rich  soil,  however,  does  not 
in  general  yield  so  fine,  tough,  and  desirable  a  brush  as  that 
grown  in  the  older  cultivated  soils. 

FLAX,  (lINUM  USITATISSIMUmJ  • 

This  is  one  of  the  oldest  cultivated  plants  of  which  we  have 
any  record ;  and  its  habitat  or  region  of  naturalization,  extends 


FLAX. 


245 


from  the  torrid  to  the  frigid  zones.  Its  long,  silken  fibres,  which 
come  from  the  outer  coating  or  bark  of  the  stem,  has  been  used 
for  the  manufacture  of  linen,  from  time  immemorial.  The  abso- 
lute quantity  at  present  grown,  is  probably  equal  to  that  of  any 
preceding  age;  but  relatively,  it  is  falling  behind  the  product  of 
cotton,  which  is  rapidly  on  the  increase.  Flax  is  still  a  profitable 
crop,  for  in  addition  to  its  use  as  a  material  for  clothing,  the  seed 
is  of  great  value  for  its  oil,  and  the  food  it  yields  to  cattle. 

The  proper  soil  for  flax,  is  a  good  alluvial  or  vegetable  loam, 
equally  removed  from  a  loose  sand  or  tenacious  clay.  In  a  very 
rich  soil  the  fibre  grows  too  coarse,  and  on  a  hard  soil,  the  crop 
will  not  make  a  profitable  return.  Fresh  barn-yard  manures  are 
not  suited  to  it,  and  they  should  in  all  cases  where  necessary  for 
a  proper  fertility,  be  added  to  the  preceding  crop.  A  rich  sod 
which  has  long  lain  in  pasture  or  meadow,  well  plowed  and 
rotted,  is  the  best  for  it.  Lime  in  small  quantities  may  be  given 
to  the  soil,  but  the  Flemings,  who  raise  flax  extensively,  never 
allow  it  to  follow  a  heavy  liming,  till  seven  years  intervene,  as 
they  consider  it  injures  the  fibre.  A  good  wheat  is  generally  a 
good  flax  soil.  Salt,  askes,  and  gypsum,  are  proper  manures  for 
it;  the  last  has  the  greatest  effect  if  applied  afi:er  the  plant  is 
developed  and  while  covered  with  dew  or  moisture;  all  the 
sahne  manures  used  as  a  top  dressing,  benefit  the  plant  and 
check  the  ravages  of  worms  which  fi-equently  attack  the  young 
plants. 

Culture. — On  a  finely  prepared  surface  of  fresh  sod,  or 
after  corn  or  roots  which  have  been  well  cleared,  sow  broadcast, 
from  sixteen  to  thirty  quarts  per  acre  if  wanted  for  seed,  or  two 
bushels  if  wanted  for  the  fibre.  "When  thin  it  branches  very 
much,  and  every  sucker  or  branch  is  terminated  by  a  boll  well 
loaded  with  seed.  When  thickly  sown,  the  stem  grows  single 
and  without  branches,  and  gives  a  long,  fine  fibre.  If  the  soil 
be  very  rich,  and  fibre  is  the  object  of  cultivation,  it  may  be 
sown  at  the  rate  of  three  bushels  per  acre.  There  is  a  great 
difference  in  seed ;  the  heaviest  is  the  best,  and  it  should  be  of  a 


246 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


bright  brownish  cast,  and  oilj  to  the  touch.  It  should  be  lightly 
harrowed  or  brushed  in  and  rolled.  When  three  or  four  inches 
high,  it  may  be  carefully  weeded  by  hand,  and  for  this  it  is  best 
to  employ  children,  or  if  adults  are  put  on  the  field,  they  should 
be  barefoot,  and  any  depression  of  the  plants  by  the  feet  will 
soon  be  recovered  by  the  subsequent  growth,  which  on  good  soil, 
will  be  sufficiently  rapid  to  prevent  the  weeds  again  interfering 
with  it. 

Harvesting. — When  it  is  designed  for  cambrics  and  the  finest 
linen,  flax  is  pulled  when  flowering;  but  in  this  country  it  is 
seldom  harvested  for  the  fibre  till  the  seed  is  entirely  formed,  and 
although  not  ripe,  most  of  it  will  mature  if  pulled,  while  the  fibre 
is  in  its  full  strength.  If  required  for  seed,  it  should  be  left  stand- 
ing, till  the  first  seeds  are  well  ripened.  It  is  then  gathered  and 
bound  in  small  bundles,  and  when  properly  dried  is  placed  under 
cover.  If  it  falls  before  ripening,  it  should  be  pulled  at  once, 
whatever  be  its  stage  of  growth,  as  it  is  the  only  means  of  saving  it. 

After  Management. — The  usual  method  of  preparing  flax 
in  this  country,  after  removing  the  seed  by  drawing  the  heads 
through  a  comb  or  rake  of  finely  set  teeth,  called  rippling,  is  by 
dew-rotting,  or  spreading  it  thinly  on  a  clean  sward,  and  turning 
it  occasionally  till  properly  rotted,  after  which  it  is  put  into 
bundles  and  stored  till  a  convenient  period  for  cleaning  it.  This 
is  a  wasteful  practice  and  gives  an  inferior  quahty  of  fibre.  The 
best  plan  of  preparing  it  is  by  water-rotting,  which  is  done  in 
vats  or  small  ponds  of  soft  water,  similar  to  those  used  for  hemp. 
This  gives  a  strong,  even,  silky  fibre  and  without  waste,  and 
worth  much  more  either  for  sale  or  for  manufacturing  than  the 
dew-rotted.  Various  steeps  for  macerating,  and  machines  for 
preparing  it  have  been  used,  which  materially  increases  its  mar- 
ketable value.  The  fibre  is  generally  got  out  on  the  Ireah  by  hand, 
when  the  farmer  is  most  at  leisure.  A  crop  of  the  fibre  may  be 
estimated  at  300  to  1,000  pounds;  and  of  seed,  from  fifteen  to 
thirty  bushels  per  acre.  (See  machine  noticed  in  Ilemp-hreah, 
page  252.) 


HEMP. 


247 


There  are  no  varieties  worthy  of  particular  notice,  for  ordinary 
cultivation.  Great  benefit  is  found  to  result  from  a  frequent 
change  of  seed,  to  soils  and  situations  differing  from  those  where 
it  has  been  raised.  The  seed  is  always  valuable  for  the  linseed 
oil  it  yields,  and  the  residuum  or  oil  cake  stands  deservedly  high 
as  a  feed  for  all  animals;  and  the  entire  seed  when  boiled,  is 
among  the  most  fattening  substances  which  the  farmer  can  use 
for  animal  food.  Flax,  like  most  other  plants  grown  for  seed,  is 
an  exhausting  crop,  but  when  pulled  or  harvested  before  the  seed 
matures,  it  is  not.  The  Flemings  think  flax  ought  not  to  be 
raised  on  the  same  soil  oftener  than  once  in  eight  years.  It  may 
be  oftener  repeated  in  this  country. 

HEMP,  (CANNASBIS  SATIVA,) 

Is  suited  to  large  portions  of  our  western  soils  and  climate, 
and  for  many  years  it  has  been  a  conspicuous  object  of  agricul- 
tural attention.  We  have  not  yet  brought  the  supply  to  our  full 
consumption  of  it  in  its  various  manufactured  forms,  as  we  have 
till  recently  imported  several  miUions  annually.  B ut  the  increased 
attention  and  skill  bestowed  on  its  cultivation,  combined  with  our 
means  for  its  indefinite  production,  will  doubtless,  ere  long,  con- 
stitute us  one  of  the  largest  of  the  hemp  exporting  countries. 

The  Soil  for  hemp  may  be  similar  to  that  for  flax,  but  with  a 
much  wider  range  from  a  uniform  standard,  for  it  will  thrive  in 
moderately  tenacious  clay,  if  rich,  drained,  and  well  pulverized ; 
and  it  will  do  equally  well  on  reclaimed  muck  beds  when  properly 
treated.  New  land  is  not  suited  to  it  till  after  two  or  three  years 
of  cultivation.  A  grass  sod  or  clover  bed  is  best  adapted  to  it 
when  plowed  in  the  fall  or  early  in  winter.  This  secures  thor- 
ough pulverization  by  frost  and  the  destruction  of  insects,  and 
especially  the  cut- worm,  which  is  very  injurious  to  it.  It  should 
be  re-plowed  in  the  spring,  if  not  already  sufiiciently  mellow,  as 
a  fine  tilth,  considerable  depth  and  great  fertility  are  essential  to 
its  vigor. 

Cultivation. — Early  sowing  produces  the  best  crop,  yet  it 
should  not  be  put  in  so  early  as  to  be  exposed  to  severe  frost ; 


248 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


and  where  there  is  a  large  quantity  planted,  convenience  in  har- 
vesting requires  that  it  should  ripen  at  sufficient  intervals.  The 
farmer  may  select  his  time  for  sowing,  according  to  his  latitude, 
and  the  quantity  cultivated.    From  the  tenth  of  April  to  the 
tenth  of  June  is  the  fullest  range  allowed.    The  choice  of  seed  is 
material,  as  it  is  important  to  have  a  full  set  of  plants  on  the 
ground;  yet  an  excess  is  injurious,  as  a  part  are  necessarily 
smothered  after  absorbing  the  strength  of  the  soil,  and  they  are 
besides  in  the  way  of  the  harvesting,  without  contributing  any- 
thing to  the  value  of  the  crop.    Seed  of  the  last  year's  growth  is 
best,  as  it  generally  heats  by  being  kept  over,  which  can  be 
avoided  only  by  spreading  thin.    From  four  to  six  pecks  per 
acre  of  good  seed,  is  sufficient.    The  best  is  indicated  by  its 
weight  and  bright  reddish  color.    It  is  usual  to  sow  broadcast, 
and  harrow  in  lightly  both  ways,  and  roll  it.    A  smooth  surface 
is  material  in  facihtating  the  cutting.    Sowing  in  drills,  would 
require  less  seed,  give  an  equal  amount  of  crop,  and  materially 
expedite  the  planting.    This  should  always  be  done  before  moist 
weather  if  possible,  as  rapid  and  uniform  germination  of  the  seed 
is  thus  more  certainly  secured.    If  the  soil  be  very  dry,  it  is 
better  to  place  the  seed  deeper  in  the  ground,  which  can  be  done 
with  the  cultivator.     If  sown  in  drills  and  well  covered,  it 
might  be  previously  soaked  so  as  to  secure  early  germination  in 
the  absence  of  rains. 

Cutting. — No  after  cultivation  is  necessary,  and  as  soon  as 
the  blossoms  turn  a  little  yellow,  and  begin  to  drop  their  leaves, 
which  usually  happens  from  three  to  three  and  one-half  months 
after  sowing,  it  is  time  to  cut  the  hemp ;  if  it  stands,  however,  a 
week  or  ten  days  longer  than  this,  no  other  detriment  will  ensue 
except  that  it  will  not  rot  so  evenly,  and  becomes  more  laborious 
to  break.  Cutting  is  now  almost  universally  practiced  in  prefer- 
ence to  pulling.  Not  quite  so  much  lint  is  saved  by  the  first  as 
by  the  last  process,  but  the  labor  is  pleasanter,  and  all  subsequent 
operations,  such  as  spreading  out,  stacking  and  rotting,  are  made 
easier.    The  lint  also  is  of  a  better  color  and  finer  fibre,  and  the 


HEMP. 


249 


roots  and  stubble  left  in  the  ground  and  plowed  under,  tend  to 
lighten  the  soil,  and  as  thej  decompose,  become  an  equivalent  to 
a  hght  dressing  of  manure.  If  the  hemp  is  not  above  seven  feet 
high,  it  can  be  cut  with  cradle  scythes,  similar  to  those  used  for 
wheat,  (only  larger  and  stronger,)  at  the  rate  of  an  acre  per  day; 
but  if  above  this  height,  hooks  must  be  used,  full  three  inches 
wide,  of  a  corresponding  thickness,  and  about  two  and  a  half  feet 
long,  something  in  the  shape  of  a  brush  scythe  or  sickle,  attached 
to  the  end  of  a  long  and  nearly  straight  snath,  and  with  these 
half  an  acre  is  considered  a  good  day's  work. 

Drying  and  Securinq. — As  fast  as  cut,  spread  the  hemp  an 
the  ground  where  it  was  grown,  taking  care  to  keep  the  butts 
even,  when  if  the  weather  be  dry  and  warm,  it  will  be  cured 
in' three  days.  As  soon  as  sufficiently  dried,  commence  binding 
into  convenient  sheaves,  and  if  destined  for  water  rotting,  it  ought 
to  be  transported  to  dry  ground  convenient  to  the  pools,  and  then 
secured  in  round  stacks,  carefully  thatched  on  the  top  to  keep 
out  the  rain;  but  if  designed  for  dew  rotting,  it  should  be  secured 
in  the  same  field  where  grown  in  large  ricks.  The  reason  why 
these  are  to  be  preferred  is,  that  less  of  the  hemp  in  them  is 
exposed  to  the  weather,  and  of  course  the  more  and  better  the 
lint  when  it  comes  to  be  rotted  and  broken  out. 

The  Ricks  should  be  thirty  to  forty  feet  long,  and  fifteen  to 
twenty  feet  wide,  the  best  foundation  for  which  is  large  rails  or 
logs  laid  down  for  the  bottom  course,  six  feet  from  each  other, 
then  lay  across  these,  rails  or  poles  one  foot  apart.  As  the  hemp 
is  bound  in  sheaves,  let  it  be  thrown  into  two  rows,  with  suffi- 
cient space  for  a  wagon  to  pass  between.  While  the  process 
of  taking  up  and  binding  is  going  on,  a  wagon  and  three  hands, 
two  to  pitch  and  one  to  load,  is  engaged  in  hauling  the  hemp  to 
the  rick,  and  stacking  it.  The  rick  should  be  in  a  central  part 
so  as  to  require  the  hemp  to  be  removed  as  short  a  distance  as 
possible.  Thus  the  process  of  taking  up,  binding,  hauling,  and 
ricking,  all  progress  together.  In  this  way  five  hands  will  put 
up  a  stout  rick  in  two  days  and  cover  it.  By  having  two 
11* 


250 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


wagons  and  ten  hands,  it  may  be  accomplished  in  one  day.  It 
is  proper  to  remark,  that  for  making  the  roof  of  the  rick,  it  is 
necessary  to  have  long  hemp,  from  which  the  leaves  should  be 
beat  off.  In  this  state  only  will  hemp  make  a  secure  roof^ — 
Beatty. 

In  laying  down  the  hemp,  begin  with  the  top  ends  of  the 
bundle  inside,  and  if  they  do  not  fill  up  fast  enough  to  keep  the 
inside  of  the  rick  level,  add  as  occasion  may  require,  whole 
bundles.    Give  it  a  rounded  elliptical  form  at  each  end,  and  as  it 
rises  it  must  be  widened  so  as  to  make  the  top  courses  shelter  the 
bottom  ones,  and  after  getting  up  about  twelve  feet  high,  then 
commence  for  the  roof,  by  laying  the  bundles  crosswise,  within  a 
foot  of  the  edges  of  the  rick,  building  the  top  up  roof- shaped,  of 
a  slope  at  an  angle  of  about  forty-five  degrees.    This  finished,  'for 
the  covering  of  the  roof  lay  up  the  bundles  at  right  angles  to  its 
length,  the  butt  ends  down,  and  the  first  course  resting  on  the 
rim  of  the  rick  as  left  all  around,  one  foot  in  width.    Lap  the 
bundles  in  covering  the  roof  in  courses,  precisely  as  if  shingling 
a  house.    The  first  shingling  thus  finished,  commence  the  second 
by  reversing  the  bundles,  placing  the  top  ends  down,  and  then  go 
on  lapping  them  as  before.    The  third  course  of  shingling  begin 
with  the  butt  ends  down  again,  letting  the  first  course  hang  at 
least  one  foot  below  the  edge  of  the  roof,  as  eaves  to  shed  off  the 
rain  well  from  the  body  of  the  stack.    Unbind  the  bundles,  and 
lay  the  covering  at  least  one  foot  thick  with  the  loose  hemp,  lap- 
ping well  shingle  fashion  as  before,  and  for  a  weather  board,  let 
the  top  course  come  up  above  the  peak  of  the  roof  about  three 
feet,  and  be  then  bent  over  it,  towards  that  point  of  the  compass 
from  which  the  wind  blows  least.    If  the  work  has  been  faithfully 
performed,  the  rick  may  be  considered  as  finished,  and  weather 
proof,  and  it  requires  no  binding  with  poles  or  anything  else. 
The  rick  should  be  made  when  the  weather  is  settled  and  certain, 
for  if  rain  falls  upon  it  during  the  process,  it  will  materially  injure 
the  hemp.    There  ought  always  to  be  a  sufficient  number  of 
hands  in  the  field  to  gather,  bind  the  shocks,  and  finish  the  ricking 
in  a  single  day. 


HEMP. 


251 


Time  of  Dew  Rotting — The  best  time  for  spreading  hemp 
for  dew  rotting,  is  in  the  month  of  December.  ''It  then  receives 
what  is  called  a  winter  rot,  and  makes  the  lint  of  the  hemp  a 
light  color,  and  its  quality  better  than  if  spread  out  early.  But 
where  a  farmer  has  a  large  crop,  it  is  desirable  to  have  a  part  of 
his  hemp  ready  to  take  up  Jate  in  December,  so  that  he  may 
commence  breaking  in  January.  To  accomplish  this  object,  a 
part  of  his  crop  may  be  spread  about  the  middle  of  October.  It 
would  not  be  prudent  to  spread  earlier,  as  hemp  will  not  obtain 
a  good  rot  if  spread  out  when  the  weather  is  warm.  The  experi- 
enced hemp-grower  is  at  no  loss  to  tell  when  hemp  is  sufficiently 
watered.  A  trial  of  a  portion  of  it  on  the  break  will  be  the  best 
test  for  those  w^ho  have  not  had  much  experience.  When  suffi- 
ciently watered,  the  stalks  of  the  hemp  lose  that  hard,  sticky 
appearance  or  feel,  which  they  retain  till  the  process  is  completed. 
The  lint  also  begins  to  separate  from  the  stalk,  and  the  fibres  will 
show  themselves  somewhat  like  the  strings  of  a  fiddle-bow  attached 
to  the  stalk  at  two  distant  points,  and  separate  in  the  middle. 
This  is  a  sure  indication  that  the  hemp  has  a  good  rot. 

SHOCKma  after  Breaking  and  Rotting. — "  When  hemp  is 
fit  to  be  taken  up,  it  should  be  immediately  put  in  shocks,  with- 
out binding,  of  suitable  siza  If  it  is  dry,  the  shocks  should  be 
immediately  tied  with  a  hemp  band,  by  drawing  the  tops  as 
closely  together  as  possible,  in  order  to  prevent  the  rain  from  wet- 
ting the  inside.  If  carefully  put  up  and  tied,  they  will  turn  rain 
completely.  Each  shock  should  be  large  enough  to  produce  from 
fifty  to  sixty  pounds  of  lint.  If  the  hemp  should  be  considerably 
damp,  when  taken  up,  the  shocks  should  be  left  untied  at  the 
tops  until  they  have  time  to  dry.  If  shocks  are  not  weU  put  up, 
they  are  liable  to  blow  down  by  a  strong  wind.  To  guard  against 
this,  it  is  desirable,  when  commencing  a  shock,  to  tie  a  band 
around  the  first  armful  or  two  that  may  be  set  up,  and  then  raise 
up  the  parcel  so  tied,  and  beat  it  well  against  the  ground  so  as  to 
make  it  stand  firmly  in  a  perpendicular  direction.  The  balance 
of  the  shock  should  now  be  set  regularly  around  the  part  as  herein 


252 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTUEE. 


directed.  If  hemp  be  carefully  shocked,  it  will  receive  little  or 
no  injury  till  the  weather  becomes  warm.  In  the  meantime  it 
should  be  broke  out  as  rapidly  as  possible.  If  the  operation  be 
completed  by  the  middle  of  April,  no  material  loss  will  be  sus- 
tained. If  delayed  to  a  later  period,  more  or  less  loss  of  lint  will 
be  the  consequence.  Cool,  frosty  weather  is  much  the  best  for 
hemp  breaking.  In  that  state  of  the  weather,  if  the  hemp  is  good, 
first  rate  hands  on  the  common  hemp-break,  will  clean  two  hund- 
red pounds  per  day,  upon  an  average.  Two  of  my  best  hands, 
during  the  past  season,  for  every  day  they  broke,  favorable  and 
unfavorable,  averaged  one  hundred  and  eighty-six  pounds.  Two 
others,  who  are  young  men,  and  not  full  hands,  averaged  one 
hundred  and  forty-four  pounds.  The  ordinary  task  for  hands  is 
one  hundred  pounds." — Beatty. 

Hemp-break. — The  hand  hemp-break  is  made  precisely  like 
that  for  flax,  only  much  larger;  the  under  slats  on  the  hinder  end 
are  sixteen  to  eighteen  inches  apart;  at  the  fore  end  they  approach 
within  three  inches  of  each  other.  The  slats  in  the  upper  jaw, 
are  so  placed  as  to  break  joints  into  the  lower  one,  as  it  is  brought 
down  on  to  the  hemp.  It  is  a  machine  so  common,  however, 
that  we  deem  further  description  unnecessary.  After  breaking 
out  the  hemp,  it  is  twisted  into  bunches,  and  sent  to  the  press 
house  to  be  baled,  and  is  then  transported  to  market.  We  are 
happy  to  say  that  an  effective  hemp  and  flax  breaking  and 
hetchehng  machine  has  lately  been  brought  into  use,  and  sold 
by  the  larger  dealers  in  agricultural  implements  throughout  the 
country. 

Water  Rotting.— We  think  the  best  plan  for  water  rotting 
is  in  vats  under  cover,  the  water  in  which  is  kept  at  an  equable 
temperature.  The  hemp  thus  gets  a  perfect  rot  at  all  seasons  of 
the  year,  in  seven  or  ten  days,  and  when  dried,  is  of  a  bright, 
greenish,  flaxen  color,  and  is  considered  by  many,  of  a  better 
quahty,  and  appears  as  handsomely  as  the  finest  Russian,  and 
brings  as  high  a  price  in  market.  These  vats  may  be  easily  con- 
structed and  managed,  and  if  built  in  a  central  position,  by  a 


HEMP. 


253 


company  of  planters  on  joint  account,  they  would  be  but  of  small 
expense  to  each,  and  all  in  turn  could  be  accommodated  by  tbem. 
The  hemp  is  first  broken  in  a  machine,  which  is  moved  by  steam 
power,  previous  to  rotting;  this  lessens  the  bulk  greatly,  by  rid- 
ding it  of  most  of  its  woody  fibre ;  but  the  process  is  not  essential 
to  rotting  in  vats,  and  can  be  dispensed  with  where  the  machines 
do  not  exist.  If  it  be  rotted  in  spring  or  river  water,  artificial 
pools  or  vats  must  be  formed  for  this  purpose,  and  should  not  be 
over  three  feet  deep,  otherwise  the  hemp  is  liable  to  an  unequal 
rot.  It  will  require  plank  placed  upon  it,  weighed  down  with 
timbers  or  stones,  in  order  to  keep  it  well  under  water.  Mr. 
Myerle  recommends  vats  forty  feet  long,  twenty  feet  wide,  and 
two  feet  deep,  as  best,  and  the  most  convenient,  for  the  reason 
that  the  hemp  -is  kept  cleaner  while  rotting,  and  the  hands  can 
lay  it  down  in  the  vats  and  take  it  out  without  getting  wet,  which 
is  very  important  to  the  health  of  the  laborer.  These  vats  also 
greatly  facilitate  the  operation,  and  can  be  fed  with  water  and 
have  it  run  off  at  pleasure,  without  endangering  loss  from  the 
hemp.  Water  rotting  in  streams,  requires  a  longer  or  shorter 
period,  according  to  the  season.  In  September,  when  the  water 
is  warm,  ten  days  is  generally  sufficient ;  in  October,  about  fifteen, 
and  in  December,  thirty  days  or  more.  For  the  latitude  of  Ken- 
tucky, October  and  November  are  considered  the  best  months 
for  the  operation,  and  perhaps  is  the  easier  done,  gives  more  lint, 
and  upon  the  whole,  as  good  a  sample  as  if  deferred  later. 

Kaising  Hemp  Seed.— It  is  important  that  the  farmer  should 
be  suppHed  with  good  seed,  which  is  free  from  weeds,  and  this  he 
can  only  be  certain  of  when  he  produces  it  himself.  This  requires 
another  system  of  cultivation,  but  similar  soil,  which  should  be 
in  the  finest  condition  as  to  fertihty  and  pulverization.  An  old 
pasture  or  meadow,  heavily  manured  and  plowed  in  the  fall,  and 
well  pulverized  in  the  spring,  furnishes  the  best  soil.  We  again 
quote  from  Judge  Beatty's  valuable  essay  on  practical  agriculture : 

"The  seed  should  be  planted  as  we  do  corn,  either  in  hills  or 
drills.    I  prefer  the  former,  because  it  admits  of  easier  and  better 


254 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE^ 


cultivation,  as  the  plow  can  be  used  both  ways.  It  is  usual  to 
plant  five  feet  apart,  each  way,  and  suffer  four  or  five  stalks  to 
stand  in  a  hill  until  the  blossom  hemp  is  removed,  and  then  reduce 
the  number  so  as  not  to  exceed  two  stalks' in  a  hill.  Thus  there 
would  be  two  seed  plants  for  each  twenty-five  square  feet.  It 
would  be  a  better  practice  to  make  the  hills  three  feet  six  inches 
apart,  each  way,  and  thin  the  hemp  to  three  stalks  in  a  hill,  till 
the  blossom  hemp  appears,  and  at  the  proper  time  cut  out  the 
blossom  or  male  hemp ;  and,  if  necessary,  a  part  of  the  seed  hemp, 
so  as  to  reduce  the  latter  to  one  stalk  in  the  hill.  If  each  hill 
should  contain  one  stalky  there  would  be  two  seed  stalks  for  each 
twenty-four  and  a  half  square  feet.  This  will  give  a  greater 
number  of  seed  stalks  per  acre  than  planting  five  feet  each  way, 
and  leaving  two  in  a  hill.  According  to  this  plan,  each  seed 
plant  will  stand  by  itself,  and,  having  its  appropriate  space  of 
ground,  can  spread  its  branches  without  obstruction.  According 
to  the  other  plan,  two  seed  plants,  standing  together,  will  obstruct 
each  other,  in  putting  forth  lateral  branches,  and  can  scarcely  be 
expected  to  produce  twice  as  much  as  the  single  stalk. 

''The  ground  for  hemp  seed,  having  been  well  prepared  by  at 
least  two  plowings,  and  a  number  of  harrowings,  sufficient  to 
pulverize  the  ground,  it  should  be  laid  off  as  above  directed,  and 
planted  in  the  same  manner  as  corn,  except  that  the  seed  need 
not  be  covered  more  than  ah  inch  and  a  half  deep.  Twelve  or 
fifteen  seed  should  be  dropped  in  each  hill,  which  should  be 
somewhat  scattered  to  prevent  them  from  being  too  much  crowded 
in  the  hill.  Though  good  seed  is  certain  to  come  up,  yet  it  is 
prudent  to  plant  about  the  number  suggested  to  guard  against 
casualties.  Soon  after  the  hemp  seed  comes  up,  a  small  shovel 
plow  should  be  run  through,  both  ways,  once  in  a  row.  If  the 
ground  is  not  foul,  the  plowing  may  be  delayed  till  the  hemp  is  a 
few  inches  high,  which  will  enable  the  plowman  to  avoid  throw- 
ing the  dirt  on  the  tender  plants.  The  hoes  should  follow  the 
second  plowing,  and  clean  away  the  w^eeds,  if  any,  in  or  near 
the  hill,  and  thin  out  the  hemp  to  seven  or  eight  stalks.  These 


HEMP. 


255 


should  be  the  most  thrifty  plants,  and  separated  from  each  other. 
The  plowing  should  be  repeated  from  time  to  time,  so  as  to  keep 
the  ground  light  and  free  from  weeds.  And  when  the  plants  are 
about  a  foot  or  a  foot  and  a  half  high,  the  hoes  should  again  go 
over  the  ground  and  cut  down  any  weeds  or  grass  which  may 
have  escaped  the  plow.  The  plants  should  be  still  further  thinned 
out,  at  this  time,  leaving  but  four  in  a  hill,  and  some  fine  mold 
drawn  around  the  plants,  so  as  to  cover  any  small  weeds  that 
may  have  come  up  around  them. 

"After  seed  hemp  has  attained  the  height  of  a  foot  and  a  half, 
it  will  soon  be  too  large  to  plow,  but  it  ought  to  have  one  plow- 
ing after  the  last  hoeing.  The  ground,  by  this  time,  will  have 
become  so  much  shaded  by  the  hemp  plants,  as  to  prevent  the 
weeds  from  growing,  so  as'  to  do  any  injury,  and  nothing  more 
need  be  done  but  for  a  boy  to  follow  the  plow,  and  (if  three  and 
a  half  feet  be  the  distance  of  the  hills  apart,)  reduce  the  number 
of  plants  invariably  to  three^  taking  care  to  remove  those  which 
the  last  plowing  may  have  broken  or  injured,  by  the  treading  of 
the  horse  or  otherwise.  The  next  operation  will  be  to  cut  out 
the  blossom  or  male  hemp.  This,  according  to  the  opinion  of 
some  farmers,  should  be  done  as  soon  as  the  blossom  begins  to 
show,  in  order  to  make  room  for  the  seed  hemp  to  grow  and 
spread  its  branches.  This  opinion  must  be  taken  with  some 
allowance.  The  farina  or  pollen  of  the  male  hemp  is  necessary 
to  fertilize  the  seed  bearing  plants.  The  seed  of  the  latter  would 
be  wholly  unproductive,  if  the  whole  of  the  male  hemp  should 
be  cut  before  its  pollen  has  been  thrown  out.  It  is  important  to 
cut  the  male  hemp  as  soon  as  it  has  performed  its  office,  because 
much  room  is  thereby  afforded  to  the  seed  bearing  plants  to  spread 
their  branches. 

*'When  the  seed  hemp  has  so  far  advanced  as  readily  to  dis- 
tinguish the  male  from  the  female  plants,  let  all  the  blossom  hemp 
be  cut  out,  except  one  stalk  in  every  other  hill,  and  every  other 
row.  This  would  leave  one  stalk  of  male  hemp  for  every  four 
hills.    These,  together  with  the  stalks  which  should  thereafter 


256 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


blossom,  would  be  sufficient  to  fertilize  all  the  seed  bearing  plants, 
and  secure  a  crop  perfect  seed.  After  the  blossom  plants,  thus 
left,  have  been  permitted  to  remain  until  -they  have  pretty  well 
discharged  their  pollen,  (which  can  be  easily  ascertained  by  dust 
ceasing  to  flow  from  them  when  agitated,)  they,  also,  should  be 
cut  down.  Some  farmers  top  the  seed  plants,  when  five  or  six 
feet  high,  to  make  them  branch  more  freely,  but  this  is  not  neces- 
sary where  but  one  or  two  seed  bearing  plants  are  suffered  to 
remain  in  each  hill." 

A  seed  bearing  hemp  crop  is  a  great  exhauster  of  land,  while 
such  as  is  grown  only  for  the  fibre  takes  but  a  moderate  amount 
of  fertilizing  matter  from  the  soil.  Unlike  most  crops  sown 
broadcast,  it  grows  with  such  strength  and  luxuriance,  as  to  keep 
the  weeds  completely  smothered,  and  it  may  therefore  be  grown 
for  many  successive  seasons  on  the  same  field.  Its  entire  mo- 
nopoly of  the  ground,  prevents  the  growth  of  clover,  or  the  grains 
in  connection  with  it. 

The  seed  yields  an  oil  of  inferior  value,  and  when  cooked,  it 
affords  a  fattening  food  for  animals. 

COTTON,  (gOSSYPIUM,) 

Has,  for  many  years  past,  been  the  leading  agricultural  export 
of  the  United  States.  Its  enormous  product  has  mainly  grown 
up  within  the  last  sixty  years.  Even  as  late  as  1825,  our  total 
production  was  within  170,000,000  pounds.  The  introduction 
of  Whitney's  cotton  gin,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century, 
gave  the  first  decided  movement  towards  the  growth  of  American 
cotton.  Previous  to  this  invention  the  separating  of  the  cotton 
seed  from  the  fibre  was  mostly  done  by  hand,  and  the  process 
was  so  slow  and  expensive  as  to  prevent  any  successful  compe- 
tition with  the  foreign  article.  This  incomparable  invention, 
which  cleaned  one  thousand  pounds  in  the  same  time  a  single 
pound  could  be  cleaned  without  it,  overcame  the  only  obstacle 
to  complete  success,  and  millions  of  acres  of  the  fertile  lands  of 
the  South  and  West  are  now  annually  covered  with  the  snowy 
product. 


COTTON. 


257 


Climate  and  Soil. — Cotton  will  grow  in  some  of  the  Middle 
States,  but  with  little  profit  north  of  the  Carolinas  and  Ten- 
nessee.   The  soil  required  is  a  drj,  rich  loam. 

Cultivation. — During  the  winter,  the  land  intended  for 
planting  should  be  thrown  up  in  beds  by  turnings  several  furrows 
together.  These  beds  should  be  four  feet  from  center  to  center 
for  a  moderate  quality  of  upland  soil,  and  five  feet  for  the  low- 
land. But  these  distances  should  be  increased  with  the  increas- 
ing strength  of  the  soil,  to  seven  and  eight  feet  for  the  strongest 
lands.  Those  may  lie  until  the  time  of  planting,  from  the  twen- 
tieth of  March  to  the  twentieth  of  April,  when  no  further  danger 
from  frost  is  apprehended ;  then  harrow  thoroughly,  and  with  a 
light  plow  mark  the  center  of  the  beds,  and  sow  at  the  rate  of 
two  to  five  bushels  of  seed  per  acre.  A  drilling  machine  might 
be  made  to  answer  this  purpose  better,  and  save  much  time. 
An  abundance  of  seed  is  necessary  to  provide  for  the  enemies 
of  the  plant,  which  are  frequently  very  destructive.  If  all  the 
seed  germinates,  there  will  be  a  large  surplus  of  plants,  which 
must  be  removed  by  thinning.  The  kind  of  seed  used  for 
uplands  is  Mexican  and  Petit-Gulf,  both  of  the  same  variety,  but 
the  last  is  better  selected  and  has  been  kept  pure. 

There  is  an  advantage  in  mixing  the  seed  before  it  is  sown, 
with  moistened  ashes  or  gypsum,  as  it  faciUtates  sowing  and  ger- 
mination. The  seed  should  be  buried  from  one-half  to  one  and 
a  half  inches,  and  the  earth  pressed  closely  over  it.  The  subse- 
quent cultivation  is  performed  with  various  instruments:  the  bull- 
tongue  or  scooter,  the  shovel,  double  shovel,  the  sweep,  the 
harrow,  the  cultivator  and  the  hoe.  One  or  more  of  the  former 
must  be  used  to  pulverize  the  land  and  uproot  and  clean  off  the 
weeds;  while  the  last  is  necessary  to  carry  this  operation  directly 
up  to  the  stem  of  the  plants.  The  culture  is  thus  summarily 
stated  by  Dr.  Phillips: 

"  Commence  clearing  the  cotton  early;  clean  it  well;  return 
to  it  as  soon  as  possible,  throw  earth  or  mold  to  the  young  plants, 
and  if  the  ground  be  hard,  give  it  a  thorough  plowing;  keep  the 
earth  light  and  mellow,  and  the  plants  clear  of  grass  and  weeds." 


258 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


The  plants  are  thinned  at  every  hoeing,  till  thej  attain  a  height 
of  three  or  four  inches,  when  two  or  three  are  allowed  to  stand 
together  at  intervals  of  about  eight  inches  for  a  medium  quality 
of  soil.  This  distance  should  be  largely  in.creased  when  it  is 
richer.  , 

Cotton  is  subject  to  the  cut  and  army  worm,  the  slug  and  cat- 
erpillar, cotton  hce,  rot,  sore  shin  and  rust.  We  have  seen  no 
remedies  prescribed  for  either,  but  we  suggest  for  experiment  the 
exposure  of  the  two  former  to  frost,  by  plowing  just  before  its 
appearance.  The  free  use  of  lime  and  salt  and  similar  manures 
might  arrest  or  mitigate  the  effects  of  all.  Birds  should  also  be 
encouraged  upon  the  fields,  as  they  would  destroy  numbers  of 
the  worm  and  insect  tribes.  It  has  been  claimed  that  the  intro- 
duction of  the  Mexican  and  Petit-Gulf  varieties  is  the  most 
effectual  remedy,  as  they  furnish  hardier  kinds,  which  are  less 
the  object  of  attack  and  have  a  greater  ability  to  withstand  it. 

Harvesting  is  commenced  when  the  bolls  have  begun  to 
expand  and  the  cotton  is  protruded,  and  this  is  continued  from 
time  to  time  as  the  bolls  successively  ripen  and  burst  their  cap- 
sules. It  is  done  entirely  by  hand,  the  picker  passing  between 
two  rows  and  gleaning  from  each.  The  cotton  is  placed  in  a 
bag  capable  of  containing  fifteen  or  twenty  pounds,  which  is 
hung  upon  his  shoulders  or  strapped  upon  his  breast.  These  are 
emptied  into  large  baskets,  which  are  taken,,  when  filled,  to  the 
gin-house.    We  quote  again  from  Dr.  Phillips : 

''Having  all  things  ready  for  picking  cotton,  I  commence  as 
usual,  early,  as  soon  as  the  hands  can  gather  even  twenty  pounds 
each.  This  is  advisable,  not  only  in  saving  a  portion  of  that 
from  being  destroyed,  if  rains  should  fall,  which  often  do  at  this 
season,  (about  the  middle  of  August,)  but  for  another  reason; 
passing  through  the  cotton  has  a  tendency  to  open  out  to  sun  and 
air  the  hmbs  that  have  interlocked  across  the  rows,  and  hastens 
the  early  opening.  On  low  grounds,  especially,  much  loss  is 
incurred  in  some  seasons  from  the  want  of  the  sun  to  cause  an 
expansion  of  the  fibre  within  the  boll,  so  as  to  cause  it  to  open. 


COTTON. 


259 


.  The  boll  is  composed  of  five  divisions,  in  each  of  which  there  is 
a  parcel  of  cotton  wool  surrounding  each  seed,  there  being  sev- 
eral in  each  loch  of  cotton.  When  green,  these  fibres  he  close 
to  the  seed,  and  as  it  ripens,  the  fibres  become  elastic,  the  boll 
becoming  hard  and  brownish. 

"The  Sea  Island  has  only  three  divisions,  as  also  the  Egyptian, 
which  is  only  the  Sea  Island  of  the  best  variety,  with  black  seed, 
smooth,  and  a  yellowish  tuft  of  fibres  on  the  small  end ;  they  are 
both  from  Pernambuco.  Some  of  the  cotton  we  plant  has  only 
four  divisions,  but  I  think  five  generally.  There  is  a  peculiar 
art  in  gathering  the  cotton  from  the  boll,  which,  like  handling 
stock,  can  only  be  acquired  by  practice ;  many  gather  equally 
fast  with  either  hand.  The  left  hand  seizes  the  stem  near  the 
open  boll,  or  the  boll  between  the  two  middle  fingers,  the  palm 
of  the  hand  up ;  the  fingers  of  the  right  hand  are  inserted  toler- 
ably low  down  in  the  boll,  a  finger  on  each  lock  of  cotton ;  then, 
as  the  fingers  grasp  it,  there  is  a  slight  twisting  motion,  and  a 
quick  pull,  which,  if  done  well,  will  extract  the  contents,  the 
boll  being  open,  and  the  bottom  of  the  locks  not  gummy  to 
adhere. 

"  There  is  a  vast  difference  in  hands — ^not  the  quickest  making 
the  best  pickers — a  steady,  clocklike  motion,  with  some  quickness, 
is  necessary  to  gather  fast.  A  neighbor  of  mine,  when  a  young 
man,  some  ten  years  since,  gathered  four  hundred  pounds,  which 
was  at  that  time  the  best  I  had  known ;  this  has  been  beaten 
since,  by  aiding  the  hand  in  emptying  his  sacks,  and  almost 
feeding  and  watering  him  while  at  work. 

"  Cotton  should  be  gathered  from  the  field  as  clean  as  possible, 
taken  to  the  scafiblds  and  dried  until  the  seed  will  crack  when 
pressed  between  the  teeth ;  not  crush  or  mash,  but  crack  with  some 
noise.  It  should  be  frequently  turned  over  and  stirred,  (all  the 
trash  and  rotten  pods  taken  out  while  this  is  being  done,)  so  as 
to  insure  its  drying  earlier. 

*'If  seeds  are  wanted  for  planting,  gin  the  cotton  immediately, 
and  spread  the  seed  over  the  floor  some  five  inches  thick,  until 


260 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


perfectly  drj.  If  the  cotton  seed  be  not  wanted,  pack  the  seed  • 
cotton  away  into  the  house,  to  remain  until  a  gentle  heat  is  dis- 
covered, or  until  sufficient  for  ginning ;  after  it  has  heated  until 
a  feeling  of  warmth  to  the  hand,  and  -it  looks  as  if  pressed 
together,  open  out  and  scatter  to  cool.  This  cotton  will  gin 
faster,  have  a  softer  feel,  is  not  so  brittle,  therefore  not  so  hable 
to  break  by  rapidity  of  gin,  and  has  a  creamy  color;  the  wool 
has  imbibed  a  part  of  the  oil  that  has  exuded  by  the  warmth  of 
seed,  and  is  in  fact  restored  to  the  original  color ;  for  the  oil  being 
vegetable,  it  is  dissipated  by  sun  and  air,  and  the  color  by  moisture 
(of  rain  and  dews)  and  light.  I  have  known  of  a  number  of 
sales  made  of  this  description  of  cotton,  and  even  those  who  are 
most  strenuous  against  the  heating,  admit  it  bore  a  better 
price."  The  cotton  is  then  ginned  and  baled,  when  it  is  ready 
for  market. 

Topping  Cotton  between  the  twentieth  of  July  and  twen- 
tieth of  August,  is  practiced  by  many  planters  with  decided 
success.  It  is  thought  by  the  foregoing  authority,  highly  ben- 
eficial in  dry  seasons,  but  not  in  wet,  and  that  in  three  years  out 
of  five,  it  is  attended  with  particular  advantage  to  the  crop. 

Sea  Island  Cotton  requires  in  many  respects  a  treatment 
unlike  that  of  the  upland.  We  insert  an  article  by  Thomas 
Spalding,  Esq.,  who  has  long  been  engaged  in  its  cultivation. 

^'The  Sea  Island  cotton  was  introduced  into  Georgia  from  the 
Bahamas;  the  seed  was  from  a  small  island  near  St.  Domingo, 
known  as  Arguilla,  then  producing  the  best  cotton  of  the  Western 
world.  It  in  no  way  resembles  the  Brazil  cotton,  which  is  the 
kidney  seed  kind,  introduced  some  years  later,  and  which  after 
trial,  was  rejected  in  Georgia.  This  seed  came  in  small  parcels 
from  the  Bahamas  in  the  winter  of  1785.  It  gradually  and 
slowly  made  its  way  along  the  coast  of  Georgia,  and  passed  into 
Carolina,  from  the  year  1790  to  1792.  The  winter  of  1786  in 
Georgia,  was  a  mild  one,  and  although  the  plants  of  the  Sea 
Island  cotton  that  year  had  not  ripened  their  seed,  it  being  a 
perennial,  and  subject  only  to  be  killed  by  frost,  it  started  the 


COTTON. 


261 


next  season  (1787)  from  the  roots  of  the  previous  year,  its  seed 
ripened,  and  the  plants  became  accHmated.  Many  changes  have 
come  over  this  seed  since  that  time,  from  difference  of  soil,  of 
culture,  and  local  position;  and  above  all,  from  careful  selection 
of  seed.  But  it  requires  to  be  discovered,  that  what  is  gained 
in  fineness  of  wool,  is  lost  in  the  quality  and  weight  of  the  pro- 
duct; for  in  spite  of  a  zeal  and  intelligence  brought  to  act  upon 
the  subject  without  parallel,  the  crops  are  yearly  diminishing; 
until  to  grow  Sea  Island  cotton  is  one  of  the  most  profitless  pur- 
suits within  the  limits  of  the  United  States. 

^'The  Culture. — When  the  Sea  Island  cotton  seed  was 
introduced  in  1786,  it  was  planted  in  hills  prepared  upon  the 
level  field,  at  five  feet  each  way ;  but  it  was  soon  learned,  that 
of  all  plants  that  grow,  it  is  in  its  first  vegetation  and  early  stage 
the  most  tender;  liable  to  suffer  by  storms,  by  wind,  by  drought, 
and  by  excess  of  rain.  The  quantity  of  seed  was  therefore 
increased,  and  the  plants  multiplied,  until,  as  in  most  other  cases, 
one  extreme  produced  another.  For  many  years,  however, 
among  experienced  planters,  the  course  is  to  divide  their 
enclosed  fields  into  two  portions;  the  one  at  rest,  the  other  in 
culture. 

"PREPARiNa  THE  Land  FOR  THE  Crop. — Early  in  February, 
any  hands  not  engaged  in  preparing  the  previous  crop  for  market, 
are  employed  in  cleaning  up  the  rested  fields,  and  either  in  burn- 
ing off  the  fennel  weeds  and  grass  of  the  previous  year,  or  in 
listing  them  in  at  five  feet  apart,  to  serve  as  the  base  of  the 
future  ridges  or  bed.  There  is  much  difference  of  opinion,  upon 
the  subject  of  burning  or  listing  in ;  for  myself,  I  am  inclined  to 
take  the  first  opinion,  believing  that  the  light  dressing  of  ashes 
the  field  receives  from  burning  off,  is  more  beneficial  to  the  soil 
than  the  decay  of  the  vegetable  matter,  and  renders  it  less  liable 
to  produce  what  is  a  growing  evil,  the  rust,  a  species  of  blight, 
much  resembling  the  rust  or  bhght  upon  wheat,  and  which  takes 
place  about  the  same  period,  just  as  the  plant  is  putting  out  and 
preparing  to  ripen  its  fruit. 


262 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


"Ridging. — The  land  being  listed  in  short  lines  across  the 
entire  field,  at  five  feet  apart,  the  operation  of  ridging  is  com- 
menced about  the  first  of  March.  The  ridges  occupy  the  entire 
surface;  that  is,  the  foot  of  one  ridge  commencing  where  the  other 
ridge  ends,  and  rising  about  eight  inches  above  the  natural  level 
of  the  land,  thus  presenting  a  surface  almost  as  smooth,  and 
almost  as  deeply  worked  as  a  garden  bed.  This  ridging  is  carried 
on  but  a  few  days  ahead  of  the  planting.  The  ridge,  if  the  oper- 
ation has  been  carefully  done,  is  from  two  to  two  and  one-half 
feet  broad  at  the  top ;  it  is  then  trenched  on  the  upper  surface  with 
the  hoe,  six  inches  wide,  and  fi-om  three  to  six  inches  deep, 
depending  upon  the  period  of  planting. 

"Planting. — In  the  beginning,  if  the  seed  is  covered  more 
than  two  inches  with  soil,  the  soil  will  not  feel  the  influence  of 
the  sun,  and  the  seed  will  not  vegetate  later;  that  is,  in  April  up 
to  the  first  of  May,  you  must  give  from  three  to  four  inches  of 
covering  to  preserve  the  moisture,  or  there,  too,  you  fail  from  an 
opposite  cause,  the  wind  and  burning  influence  of  the  sun  drying 
the  soil  too  much  for  vegetation.  In  most  countries,  after  sowing 
the  seed  the  roller  is  applied;  but  in  cotton  planting,  in  our 
ridge-husbandry,  the  foot,  in  covering  the  seed  and  pressing  down 
the  earth  well  supphes  its  place. 

"Quantity  of  Seed  per  Acre. — A  bushel  of  seed  is  gener- 
ally sown  to  the  acre;  I  beheve  half  a  bushel  is  better,  for  where 
the  evil  comes,  whether  the  worm,  or  wind,  or  drought,  or  wet, 
there  is  no  security  in  the  many;  but  on  the  contrary,  where 
they  come  up  thin,  they  soon  grow  out  of  the  way  of  injury  from 
any  enemy. 

"After  Culture. — The  cultivation  of  Sea  Island  cotton  is 
carried  on  by  the  hand  hoe,  and  the  quantity  always  limited  to 
four  acres  to  the  laborer.  The  operation  of  weeding  commences 
as  soon  as  we  finish  planting,  because  in  our  flat  and  sandy  soils 
the  grass  seed  springs  with  the  first  growth  of  the  cotton,  and  by 
the  time  we  finish  planting,  say  the  first  of  May,  what  we  planted 
in  March  requires  the  hoe.    The  land  is  kept  in  the  operation  of 


COTTON. 


263 


lioeing  and  weeding  as  far  as  may  be,  at  its  original  level,  the 
beds  neither  increased  or  diminished,  that  rains  which  generally 
fall  with  beating  power,  and  in  redundant  quantity,  in  the  month 
of  August,  may  as  little  as  possible  injure  the  growing  plants, 
which  are  then  in  full  bearing.  The  young  cotton  is  thinned  out 
slowly  at  from  six  to  twelve  inches  apart  on  the  ridge,  by  the 
tenth  of  June.  As  soon  as  the  rains  commence,  which  is  about 
the  last  of  July,  it  is  wise  to  leave  nature  to  herself,  and  no 
longer  disturb  the  soil;  four  hoeings  if  well  done,  and  the  grass 
well  picked  at  each  hoeing,  is  enough ;  nor  does  any  aftergrowth 
of  grass  do  injury. 

"Manures  and  Soiling  Stock. — For  some  years  past,  great 
efforts  have  been  made  by  the  Sea  Island  planters,  in  manuring. 
Much  of  the  alluvion  of  our  salt  rivers  have  been  collected,  and 
sometimes  placed  directly  in  heaps  through  the  fields  at  rest,  at 
other  times  placed  in  cattle  pens,  on  which  cotton  seed,  and  all 
waste  materials  are  strewn,  and  the  cattle  pounded  up  on  it.  But 
what  is  preferred,  is  to  pen  our  cattle  near  the  river  at  night,  and 
cut  salt  grass,  which  covers  these  alluvion  lands,  and  which  is  as 
nutritious  as  so  much  clover.  Great  benefits  will  result  from  the 
use  of  marl,  I  have  no  doubt,  hereafi;er. 

"Amount  of  Crop  per  Acre,  and  Picking. — It  has  been 
stated  already,  that  500  pounds  to  the  acre  is  about  the  medium 
crop,  which  at  twenty  cents  per  pound,  is  to  the  planter  $100  for 
gross  crop ;  and  from  this  hundred  dollars  is  to  be  subtracted  the 
expense  of  cultivation,  bagging,  freight^  and  expenses  of  sale." 

The  varieties  which  have  been  cultivated  with  success  in  the 
United  States,  in  addition  to  those  enumerated,  are  the  Rio^  with 
a  staple  about  three  inches  in  length,  of  a  glossy,  silky  texture, 
brought  from  South  America ;  the  Egyptian^  received  from  the 
garden  of  Mehemet  Ali,  and  grown  in  Louisiana  fifi^een  feet  in 
height;  the  Mastodon,  lately  introduced  from  Mexico,  firm  in 
texture  and  highly  productive ;  the  Chinese  Silk  Cotton,  white, 
soft,  fine  and  silky ;  the  East  India,  growing  to  a  height  of  four- 
teen feet,  and  producing  a  beautiful  fibre ;  and  the  Nankeen,  a 


264 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


handsome  staple  of  a  true  nankeen  color,  raised  by  the  late  Hon. 
John  Forsyth,  of  Georgia,  and  some  other  planters. 

Cotton  Seed. — The  amount  of  seed  in  cotton  is  large,  being 
nearly  70  per  cent,  of  the  entire  gathering,  the  fibre  being  about 
28.  This  is  used  for  various  purposes.  Sometimes  it  is  pressed 
for  its  oil,  of  which  it  yields  from  15  to  20  per  cent,  of  its  own 
weight.  When  thus  treated,  the  cake  is  used  for  cattle  food. 
The  seed  is  frequently  though  improperly  fed  raw  to  stock,  and 
this  often  proves  fatal,  especially  to  swine,  besides  being  attended 
with  much  waste.  It  is  most  advantageously  prepared  by  boiling 
for  half  an  hour,  when  it  will  benefit  all  descriptions  of  stock. 
By  adding  an  equal  quantity  of  corn  and  boiling  them  together 
it  will  fatten  swine  rapidly.    It  is  also  useful  to  land  as  a  manure. 

THE  SUGAR  CANE,  (sACCHARUM  OFFICINARUM.) 

The  cultivation  of  the  cane  is  an  important  branch  of  Southern 
agriculture.  Its  first  introduction  into  this  country,  is  said  to 
have  been  in  1751,  by  some  French  Jesuits,  who  planted  it  on 
the  present  site  of  New  Orleans.  But  it  was  not  until  between 
1794  and  1800,  when  the  revolution  in  St.  Domingo  sent  hundreds 
of  their  planters  into  that  State,  that  the  growth  of  the  cane 
became  an  object  of  decided  importance.  They  brought  with 
them  the  small  yellow  Creole,  the  only  kind  then  cultivated  in 
the  French  West  India  islands.  From  these  limited  and  compar- 
atively recent  beginnings,  the  product  has  rapidly  increased,  until 
it  has  now  become  next  to  cotton,  the  great  agricultural  export 
from  the  Southern  States. 

In  Louisiana,  the  great  sugar  producing  State,  it  has  been  cul- 
tivated almost  exclusively  on  the  low  or  rich  level  lands;  but 
recently,  the  more  elevated  country  has  been  used  for  it,  and  the 
experiments  have  been  such  as  to  justify  the  expectation  that 
large  quantities  will  hereafter  be  raised  on  the  uplands.  The 
cane  was  brought  to  Georgia  in  1805  from  the  island  of  Otaheite. 
Its  extension  in  some  parts  of  that  State  and  Florida  was  rapid, 
until  the  breaking  out  of  the  late  civil  war  in  the  Southern 


SUGAR  CANE. 


265 


States,  and  with  the  return  of  their  accustomed  industry,  sugar 
will  again  become  a  heavy  staple  in  those  States,  and  in  some 
portions  of  Texas. 

Cultivation. — The  first  operation  is  to  drain  the  land  effectu- 
ally with  large  open  ditches,  by  which  all  the  surface  water  is 
removed.    The  ground  is  then  thoroughly  prepared  with  the 
plow,  and  well  harrowed  if  rough.    "In  Georgia,"  says  Mr. 
Spalding,  "the  cane  was  cultivated  differently  from  what  it  was 
elsewhere.    It  naturally  took  the  course  of  cotton  culture  of  the 
sea-coast,  to  wit :  ridges  at  five  feet  apart ;  a  trench  was  opened 
on  the  top  of  the  ridge,  three  inches  deep,  in  which  a  double  row 
of  cane  plants  were  placed,  cut  about  two  feet  long,  and  placed  so 
as  the  eyes  which  are  alternate,  should  be  on  the  sides,  and  then 
covered  with  two  inches  of  earth.    This  you  may  suppose  in  a 
good  season  gives  a  continued  line  of  stalks,  not  more  than  three 
inches  apart,  and  throwing  up  cane  five  or  six  feet,  fit  for  the 
mill.   I  have  often  supposed  that  there  was  growing  of  vegetable 
matter  to  the  acre,  from  thirty  to  forty  tons,  certainly  containing 
more  nutritious  matter  for  stock,  than  any  other  plant  would  give 
upon  the  same  surface.     In  Louisiana  they  planted  altogether 
with  the  plow,  and  had  their  trenches  not  more  than  two  and  a 
half  feet  apart;  they  have  since  gradually  widened  their  distance. 
When  I  was  there,  they  used  generally  the  old  French  plow, 
with  a  wheel  at  the  end  of  the  beam.    With  strong  teams,  they 
plowed  deep  and  better  than  anywhere  I  had  seen  in  the  South- 
ern States.    It  was  by  means  of  the  plow,  that  they  planted  so 
many  acres  to  the  laborer;  and  again,  because  they  had  Httle 
grass  upon  their  river  lands  except  the  nut  grass." 

The  cane  may  be  planted  any  time  between  the  months  of 
September  and  March ;  but  is  usually  done  in  January  and  Feb- 
ruary, after  the  sugar  making  is  completed.  Some  planters  have 
recently  obtained  large  crops  by  planting  in  rows  at  a  distance 
of  eight  feet  apart.  After  the  frost  has  disappeared,  the  earth 
is  removed  by  the  plow  from  each  side  of  the  cane,  and  the  top 
earth  is  scraped  off  to  prevent  early  vegetation.  It  is  then  kept 
12 


266  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 

clear  of  weeds  and  grass  bj  the  frequent  use  of  the  hoe,  till  it 
has  produced  suckers  or  shoots  enough  to  afford  a  full  stand.  In 
the  latter  part  of  May  or  early  in  June  it  should  be  hilled  about 
four  inches,  and  then  left  unmolested  till  ready  for  the  mill.  The 
cane  begins  to  ripen  at  the  bottom  in  August  or  September,  and 
advances  upwards  at  the  rate  of  about  six  inches  per  week,  and 
is  usually  fit  for  the  mill  by  the  middle  of  October. 

Harvesting. — The  cane  is  first  topped  while  standing,  which 
consists  in  cutting  off  the  upper  end  of  the  stalk  as  far  as  the 
leaves  are  dry.  The  dry  leaves  are  then  stripped  fi-om  the  stand- 
ino-  stalk,  and  the  cane  cut  with  a  cane  knife  close  to  the  ground, 
and  carried  in  carts  to  the  mill,  where  it  is  at  once  passed  through 
the  rollers  for  expressing  the  juice.  This  last  is  immediately  put 
into  the  kettles,  boiled,  skimmed,  and  reduced  to  the  proper  point 
for  granulation  or  conversion  into  sugar.  The  tops  and  leaves 
are  frequently  left  on  the  ground  for  manure,  or  used  for  stock 
feeding,  and  sometimes  they  are  planted.  But  it  is  better  to  use 
the  choicest  whole  cane  for  this  purpose ;  and  when  thus  selected, 
it  is  cut  before  fi-ost  and  laid  down  in  beds  or  matelas  one  or  two 
feet  in  thickness,  with  the  tops  overlapping  and  occupying  the 
surface  Hke  shingles  in  a  roof. 

Cane  is  generally  planted  in  this  country  once  in  three  years, 
and  it  continues  to  grow  vigorously  for  this  period  from  a  single 
planting.  In  St.  Domingo,  many  of  the  cane  fields  are  irrigated 
from  the  mountain  streams,  by  which  the  crop  is  largely  increased, 
and  the  ratoons  or  old  plants  last  for  several  years.  Mr.  Spalding 
places  the  average  crop  of  the  uplands  in  Georgia  at  500  pounds 
of  sugar  per  acre,  and  that  of  the  bottom  or  river  lands,  at  1,000 
pounds,  while  that  of  Louisiana  is  estimated  at  800  pounds. 
The  crushed  cane  is  frequently  used  for  fuel  where  wood  is  scarce. 
This  is  a  wasteful  custom,  as  it  is  a  valuable  food  for  stock. 
Large  quantities  of  the  molasses  have  heretofore  been  used  for 
distilling  into  alcohol,  but  the  manufacture  of  this  has  materially 
lessened  of  late,  and  a  salutary  change  has  been  made  in  its  dis- 
posal.    When  it  would  not  bring  a  remunerating  price  for 


SUGAR  CANE. 


267 


exportation,  as  has  sometimes  been  the  case  in  the  West  Indies, 
it  has  been  mixed  with  other  materials  and  fed  to  stock.  It  is 
healthful  and  exceedingly  fattening  to  animals.  It  may  become 
an  economical  question  whether  there  cannot  be  found  a  mode  of 
drying  and  storing  the  expressed  cane,  or  bagasse,  to  be  cut  up 
in  the  same  manner  as  hay,  in  a  cutting  box,  and  mixed  with 
ground  grain,  as  food  for  farm  stock,  and  thus  consumed  on  the 
plantations,  where  the  cane  is  grown.  Great  quantities  of  hay 
are  annually  shipped  from  the  States  north  of  the  sugar  region, 
for  consumption  there,  and  why  not  use  the  bagasse  as  well?  Its 
fibre  is  woody,  and  perhaps  harsh  in  its  dried  condition.  But  it 
can  be  steamed  or  cooked  in  the  manner  that  comparatively 
worthless  straw,  mixed  with  grain  meal,  is  cooked  and  fed  to 
dairy  cows  and  other  stock  at  the  North.  The  sweetness  is  not 
all  expressed  from  the  cane  in  the  grinding  mills,  and  much  of 
excellent  nutriment  still  remains.  The  valuable  quality  of  sweet- 
ness still  remaining  in  it  is  palatable  to  the  cattle,  and  fattening 
in  its  qualities.  In  the  common  way  of  its  use  as  fuel,  it  is 
comparatively,  or  if  thrown  away,  altogether  lost. 

The  blue  ribbon  is  the  most  prolific  and  extensively  cultivated 
variety  on  the  rich  lands  of  Louisiana.  The  Otaheite  is  largely 
raised,  and  with  the  Creole  or  Brazilian,  (now  nearly  superseded,) 
makes  up  the  cultivated  varieties  of  the  United  States. 

The  Cane  Coverer,  recently  invented  by  Mr.  Bryan,  it  is 
affirmed,  will  save  a  large  amount  of  labor,  a  boy  and  span  of 
horses  covering  with  it  ten  acres  in  a  day,  and  it  is  equally  effi- 
cient in  removing  the  earth  from  the  cane.  The  hydraulic  press 
has  been  lately  introduced  for  expressing  the  cane  juice,  which  it 
does  at  the  rate  of  6,000  gallons  in*  every  ten  hours,  either  by 
manual  labor  or  with  the  aid  of  a  couple  of  mules.  The  advant- 
ages claimed  for  it  are  numerous  and  striking.  The  appUcatio'r 
of  steam  to  the  manufacture  of  sugar,  has  been  generally  intro- 
duced into  Louisiana  and  the  other  sugar  States,  by  which  18,000 
pounds  have  been  made  in  twenty-four  hours,  with  great  economy 
and  advantage. 


268 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


SORGHUM  SUGAR  CANE,  (SORGIIUM  SACCHARINUM.) 

Within  a  few  years  past,  this  syrup  producing  plant  has  become 
of  great  importance  in  the  Middle  and  "Western  States,  as  well 
as  in  the  Southern  States  lying  north  of  the  cane  sugar  zone,  and 
may  possibly  be  rendered  still  more  so,  in  the  labor  revolutions 
which  have  lately  taken  place  in  the  cane  sugar  regions. 

It  is  an  ancient  plant,  long  cultivated  in  Asia  and  Africa,  for 
its  saccharine  qualities,  and  next  to  the  tropical  cane,  perhaps 
more  productive  than  any  other.  Its  success  in  making  sugar 
has  not  yet  been  profitably  demonstrated  in  America,  owing, 
possibly,  to  imperfections  in  the  mode  of  crystallization.  But 
if  it  will  simply  produce  molasses,  its  value  can  be  scarcely  too 
greatly  magnified,  in  the  economies  of  our  soil  productions. 

There  are  several  varieties,  as  the  African  Imphee,  and  others, 
but  the  Chinese,  now  most  generally  cultivated,  appears  to  be 
most  highly  approved,  for  productiveness,  and  mild  and  pleasant 
flavor. 

Soil  and  Cultivation. — Like  Indian  corn,  the  sorghum  is, 
in  its  roots,  deep  and  wide  spreading,  and  hke  that,  requires  a 
thoroughly  drained,  warm,  free,  and  good  soil  to  promote  its  sweet 
flavor — wet  and  cold  soils  contributing  but  slightly,  or  in  a  much 
less  degree,  to  its  development.  It  should  be  planted,  too,  at 
about  the  same  season  as  corn,  and  receive  frequent  and  clean 
cultivation.  Heavy,  unctions  barn-yard  manures  should  not  be 
apphed  to  the  crop,  giving  it  too  rank  a  growth.  Well  rotted,  or 
compost  manures  are  better,  or  it  may  be  grown  on  soils  succeed- 
ing a  crop  to  which  such  manures  have  been  previously  and 
lately  applied.  Lime,  ashes,  salt,  guano,  and  the  phosphates  gen- 
erally, are  excellent  manures,  giving  a  medium  growth  to  the 
stalk,  and  promoting  the  development  of  the  saccharine  juice  in 
a  higher  degree  than  the  more  stimulating  humus  of  the  heavier 
fertilizers.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  cultivation  by  itself,  but  no  more 
intricate,  or  difficult,  than  that  of  Indian  corn,  the  proper  •  land 
being  once  selected;  and  as  a  general  rule,  good  corn  land  will 
produce  good  sorghum. 


SORGUM.  269 

In  growth  it  much  resembles  broom  corn,  being  small  when  it 
first  comes  up,  and  should  be  planted,  and,  in  its  early  stages, 
worked  pretty  much  like  it.  It  also  tassels  out  somewhat  like  it,' 
only  that  the  seed  stems  run  up  pointedly,  instead  of  equally. 

Time  and  Manner  of  Haryesting.— This  should  be  done 
before  the  first  sharp  autumnal  frosts.  The  sorgho  ripens 
unequally,  or  unevenly  rather,  some  stalks  being  fit  to  cut  a  few 
days  before  others;  but  as  it  should  not  be  left  to  fully  ripen 
before  cutting,  this  inequality  in  maturity,  when  favorably  grown, 
is  of  no  particular  injury.  It  should  be  cut  near  the  ground ;  the 
two  top  joints  be  cut  off  and  thrown  aside,  bein^  too  weak  and 
crude  in  their  sap  to  add  to  the  quality  of  the  cane  below. 

As  soon  after  cutting  as  possible,  it  should  be  removed  to  the 
crushing,  or  grinding  mill,  and  put  under  cover  from  storms,  or 
the  drying  heat  of  the  sun,  that  its  juices  be  not  tainted  by  mold, 
or  too  much  dried  by  condensation,  to  be  easily  expressed.  As' 
soon  after  cutting  as  possible,  the  canes  should  go  into  the  mill 
for  crushing. 

Grinding,  Etaporation,  and  its  Manufacture  into 
Syrup.— This  is  a  process  by  itself,  and  through  which  the  ordi- 
nary farmer,  who  rears  the  crop  only  for  his  own  family  supply, 
cannot  enter  profitably  to  the  best  advantage.  A  detail  of  its 
fiill  operation,  would  require  a  treatise  far  beyond  the  limits  of 
our  work,  but  which,  fortunately,  is  well  understood  in  all  neigh- 
borhoods  where  sorghum  is  grown,  and  easily  learned  by  any 
intelhgent  inquirer.  It  is  a  simple  process,  so  far  only  as  the 
makmg  of  syrup  is  concerned,  while  its  further  manufacture  into 
sugar  requires  the  aid  of  chemicals,  and  an  educated  study  into 
its  varied  and  more  intricate  processes. 

Mills  made  of  iron,  and  driven  by  either  horse,  steam,  or  water 
power,  are  extensively  made  for  the  purpose  of  crushing,  while 
boilers,  or  evaporators,  speciaUy  made  for  that  object,  are  attached 
to  complete  the  operation,  from  which  the  finished  article  is  drawn 
off  and  barrelled  for  consumption.  The  mills  are  of  various 
capacity,  suited  to  the  amount  of  cane  grown  in  their  immediate 


270 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


vicinity,  accommodating  many  different  growers  of  the  cane,  and 
in  such  way  only,  is  the  syrup  made  really  profitable. 

Uses. — Where  the  cane  is  properly  grown  and  manufactured, 
the  syrup  is  a  mild,  rich  and  delicious  sweet — much  superior  to 
the  common  West  India,  or  New  Orleans  molasses  in  most  kinds 
of  cookery,  or  to  eat  on  puddings,  or  cakes,  when  such  flavoring 
is  required.  Where  it  can  be  readily  produced,  it  is  an  article  of 
cheap  cultivation,  and  great  household  economy.  In  such  locali- 
.  ties,  its  production  should  be  recommended,  more  or  less,  as  a  por- 
tion of  the  farm  crop,  for  syrup,  if  nothing  else. 

Its  manufacture  into  sugar,  as  yet,  has  not  been  particularly 
successful,  although  further  trials  may,  it  is  hoped,  result  in  emi- 
nent success.  Should  it  so  result,  an  tmtold  source  of  wealth 
and  luxury  may  be  found  in  wide  portions  of  the  country  now 
dependent  on  other  climates  and  countries,  which  draw  off  no 
small  amount  of  the  avails  of  other  portions  of  our  industry. 

MAPLE  SUGAR. 

The  rock,  hard  or  sugar  maple  tree,  {Acer  Saccharinum^)  is 
among  our  most  beautiful  shade,  and  most  valuable  forest  trees, 
and  it  stands  next  to  the  sugar  cane  and  sorgho  in  the  readiness, 
and  abundance  with  which  it  yields  the  material  for  cane  sugar. 
When  refined,  there  is  no  difference  either  in  appearance  or 
quality  between  the  sugar  from  the  cane,  the  maple,  or  the  beet. 
In  the  brown  state,  the  condition  in  which  it  is  sent  to  market, 
when  made  with  care  and  formed  into  solid  cakes,  it  retains  its 
peculiar  moisture  and  rich  aromatic  flavor,  which  makes  it  more 
acceptable  to  the  nibblers  of  sweets,  than  the  most  refined  and 
highly  scented  lon-hons  of  the  confectioner.  The  quantity  made 
in  this  country,  is  very  large,  though  from  the  fact  of  its  domestic 
consumption,  and  its  seldom  reaching  the  large  markets,  there  is 
no  estimate  of  the  aggregate  production  which  will  come  very 
near  the  truth.  Both  the  sugar  and  syrup  are  used  for  every 
purpose  for  which  the  cane  is  employed. 

The  sugar  maple  extends  from  the  most  northern  limits  of 
Maine  and  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior,  to  the  banks  of  the  Ohio. 


MAPLE  SUGAR.  //         271  * 

Further  south,  it  is  rarely  found.  The  cane  and  mapl^approaik/fii^ 
each  other,  but  scarcely  meet,  and  never  intermingle  as^^als  in  ^ 
the  peculiar  region  which  nature  has  assigned  to  each,  fe'soi^ier  ^ 
sections  of  the  country,  the  sugar  maple  usurps  almost  the  entire 
soil,  standing  side  by  side,  like  thick  ranks  of  corn,  yet  large  and 
lofty,  and  among  the  noblest  specimens  of  the  forest.  The  writer 
has  thus  repeatedly  seen  them  around  the  Manitouwoc  river,  near 
the  coast  of  Lake  Michigan,  in  Wisconsin,  and  in  the  beautiful 
sugar  orchards  of  the  same  country,  where,  unlike  the  others, 
they  grow  in  open  land  among  the  rich  native  grasses,  their  tops 
graceful  and  bushy  like  the  cultivated  tree,  and  but  for  their 
great  numbers  and  extent,  and  their  more  picturesque  grouping, 
one  would  think  the  hand  of  taste  and  civilization  had  directed 
what  nature  alone  has  accomplished.  And  amid  those  beautiful 
orchards,  or  in  the  depths  of  those  dense,  dark  woods,  the  Indian 
wigwam  and  the  settler's  rude  cabin  may  of  late  been  seen, 
filled  with  the  solid  cakes  and  mokoks,*  which  contain  from 
thirty  to  sixty  pounds  of  their  coarse  grained,  luscious  sugar. 

The  season  for  drawing  and  crystallizing  the  sap,  is  in  early 
spring,  when  the  bright  sunny  days  and  clear  frosty  nights  give 
it  a  full  and  rapid  circulation.  The  larger  trees  should  be  selected 
and  tapped  by  an  inch  auger,  to  the  depth  of  an  inch  or  more, 
but  not  through  the  alburnum  of  the  wood,  the  hole  inclining 
downward,  to  readily  pass  off  the  sap.  At  the  base  of  this,  a 
sharp,  gouge  shaped  piece  of  galvanized  sheet  iron,  a  few  inches 
long,  and  an  inch  to  an  inch  and  a  half  wide,  should  be  driven  into 
the  bark,  to  conduct  the  sap  into  the  bucket  below. 

It  is  contended,  however,  by  many  good  and  experienced  sugar 
makers,  that  it  is  a  better  way  to  lox  the  trees  by  cutting  with  a 
gouge,  a  narrow,  slanting  t^j9t(;ar(i  channel,  three  or  four  inches 

*  Mo-kok— An  Indian  sack  or  basket,  with  flattish  sides  and  rounded  ends,  similar 
in  fashion  to  a  ladies'  traveling  satchel.  They  are  made  perfectly  tight,  of  strips 
of  white  birch  bark,  sewed  with  thongs  of  elm.  They  make  some  of  their  sap 
buckets  of  the  same  material,  but  different  in  form.  The  small  mo-koks,  tastefully 
ornamented  with  various  colored  porcupine  quills  and  filled  with  maple  sugar,  are 
sold  for  toys. 


272 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


long,  an  incli  or  so  into  the  wood  of  the  tree,  and  inserting  the 
iron  spout  below,  as  in  the  auger  method,  as  it  will  draw  an  equal 
or  a  greater  amount  of  sap,  and  sooner  heal  over,  with  less 
detriment  to  the  tree,  and  in  much  less  time,  as  it  is  never  tapped 
during  several  successive  years  in  the  same  place. 

When  the  sugar  season  is  over,  if  holes  are  bored,  they  should 
be  closely  plugged,  and  the  head  cut  off  evenly  with  the  bark, 
which  soon  grows  over  the  wound.  If  carefully  managed,  sev- 
eral borings,  or  small  cuts,  during  the  same  season,  may  be  made 
in  a  large  and  thrifty  tree,  without  any  apparent  injury  to  it. 
The  barbarous,  slovenly  mode  of  half  girdling  the  tree  with  an 
ax,  soon  destroys  it. 

The  sap  is  collected  daily,  with  buckets  which  are  carried  on 
the  neck  by  a  milkman's  yoke  to  the  boilers;  or  if  the  quantity 
be  great  and  remote  from  the  sugar  fires,  by  a  hogshead  placed 
on  a  sled,  with  a  large  hole  at  the  top,  covered  with  a  cloth 
strainer,  or  a  tunnel,  similarly  guarded,  is  inserted  in  the  bung- 
hole.  The  primitive  mode  of  arranging  the  sugary,  is  with  large 
receiving  troughs,  (or  much  better,  tanks,)  placed  near  the  fires, 
capable  of  holding  several  hundred  gallons  of  sap,  and  the  boiling 
kettles  suspended  on  long  poles  supported  by  crotches. 

The  process  of  sugar  making^  we  give  from  the  statement  of 
Mr.  Woodworth,  of  Watertown,  N.  Y.,  who  obtained  the  pre- 
mium from  the  State  Agricultural  Society,  for  the  best  sample  of 
maple  sugar,  exhibited  at  the  annual  fair  of  1844.  We  saw  the 
sample  alluded  to,  and  no  maple  sugar,  or  even  any  other  kind,  could 
be  purer  or  finer.  Of  later  years,  different  and  lighter  made  metal 
evaporators  than  potash  kettles,  have  come  into  use,  somewhat 
like  the  sorghum  evaporators,  in  which  a  hght  colored  and  purer 
article  is  made,  at  less  expense  of  manipulation.  When  such  can  be 
obtained,  and  of  unimpeachable  quality  in  strength,  we  do  not  hes- 
itate to  recommend  their  use,  instead  of  the  old  and  heavier  boilers. 

The  statement  says:  "In the  first  place,  I  make  my  buckets, 
tubs,  and  kettles,  all  perfectly  clean.  I  boil  the  sap  in  a  potash 
kettle,  set  in  an  arch  in  such  a  manner  that  the  edge  of  the  ket- 


MAPLE  SUGAR.  273 

tie  is  defended  all  around  from  the  fire.    I  boil  through  the  day 
taking  care  not  to  have  anything  in  the  kettle  that  will  give  color 
to  the  sap,  and  to  keep  it  well  skimmed.    At  night  I  leave  fire 
enough  under  the  kettle  to  boil  the  sap  nearly  or  quite  to  syrup 
by  the  next  morning.    I  then  take  it  out  of  the  kettle  and  strain 
It  through  a  flannel  cloth,  into  a  tub,  if  it  is  sweet  enough-  if 
not  I  put  ,t  in  a  caldron  kettle,  which  I  have  hung  on  a  pole'  in 
such  a  manner  that  I  can  swing  it  on  and  off  the  fire  at  pleasure 
and  boil  It  till  it  is  sweet  enough,  and  then  strain  it  into  the  tub 
and  let  it  stand  tiU  the  next  morning;  I  then  take  it,  and  the 
syrup  m  the  kettle,  and  put  it  altogether  in  the  caldron  and  sugar 
It  off.    I  used,  to  clarify  say  one  hundred  pounds  of  sugar,  the 
whites  of  five  or  six  eggs,  well  beaten,  about  one  quart  of  new 
milk,  and  a  spoonful  of  saleratus,  all  well  mixed  with  syrup  before 
It  IS  scalding  hot.    I  then  make  and  keep  a  moderate  fire  directly 
under  the  caldron,  until  the  scum  is  all  raised;  then  skim  it  off 
clean,  taking  care  not  to  let  it  boil  so  as  to  raise  in  the  kettle 
before  I  have  done  skimming  it.  -I  then  sugar  it  off,  leaving  it  so 
damp  that  it  will  drain  a  little.    I  let  it  remain  in  the  kettlf  untH 

he  bottom,  that  will  hold  from  fifty  to  seventy  pounds,  having  a 
hm  piece  of  board  fitted  in,  two  or  three  inches  above  the  bot- 
tom, which  IS  bored  full  of  small  holes  to  let  the  molasses  drain 
through,  which  I  keep  drawn  off  by  a  tap  through  the  bottom 
put  on  the  top  of  the  sugar  in  the  box,  two  or  tfree  thick:!ssTs' 
of  lean,  damp  cloth,  and  over  that  a  board,  well  fitted  in  so  as  to 
exclude  the  air  from  the  sugar.  After  it  has  done,  or  nearly  don! 
draimng,  I  dissolve  it  and  sugar  it  off  again,  going  through  the 
same  process  m  clarifying  and  draining  as  before  " 

When  sap  is  not  immediately  boiled,  a  small  addition  of  lime 
water  shoula  b.  made  to  check  fermentation,  which  prevents  the 
gram  lation  of  he  syrup.    A  single  tree  has  yielded  in  one  day 
twen  y.four  gallons  of  sap,  making  over  seven  and  a  quarS 
pounds  o  sugar;  and  in  one  season  it  made  thirty-three  pounds 
Trees  will  give  an  average  of  two  to  six  pounds  in  a  single  season 


274 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


There  are  sugar  maple  lands  throughout  all  our  Northern  and 
Middle  States,  which  in  many  locahties  can  be  more  profitably 
devoted  to  sugar  making,  than  almost  anything  else.  These  are 
highly  elevated,  or  rocky  positions,  with  a  warm,  open  soil, 
where  the  maple  grows  freely,  and  the  sap  attains  a  remarkable 
sweetness.  They  grow,  too,  on  many  frosty  lands,  where  grain 
cannot  grow,  and  on  hillsides,  that  cannot  well  be  cultivated  in 
anything  but  pasturage.  It  is  a  question  of  calculation,  therefore, 
with  the  proprietor,  with  an  original  growth  of  trees  upon  such 
lands,  whether  to  let  them  remain  for  sugar  making,  or  to  clear 
them  for  simply  agricultural  uses.  Indeed,  if  devoted  solely  to 
sugar,  all  other  wood  growth  should  be  cut  out,  when  the  maples 
stand  thick  enough,  so  that  they  may  have  the  whole  ground  to 
themselves,  and  let  the  sun  and  air  into  them,  thus  promoting 
their  growth  and  giving  them  an  abundant  flow  of  sap.  In  such 
cases,  the  land  can  be  sown  in  grass  and  afford  considerable  good 
pasturage. 

It  is  a  long  time  to  look  ahead,  perhaps,  but  we  see  no  good 
reason  why  certain  favorable  lands  for  the  growth  of  maples,  and 
not  valuable  for  much  else,  may  not  be  planted,  even,  for  future 
sugar  orchards.  When  grown  to  a  foot  in  diameter  near  the 
ground,  they  may  be  tapped  and  made  productive. 

TOBACCO,  (nICOTIANA.) 

This  narcotic  is  a  native  of  North  America,  and  has  been  an 
object  of  extensive  use  and  cultivation  in  this  country,  since  the 
first  settlement  of  Virginia,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury. It  formed,  for  a  long  time,  the  principal  export  from  that 
colony  and  Maryland.  Kentucky  for  many  years  has  been  a 
large  producer,  exceeding  even  Virginia,  and  of  late  years,  Mis- 
souri and  other  Western  States  have  embarked  largely  in  its 
growth.  It  is  also  cultivated  to  some  extent  in  New  York, 
in  the  Connecticut  valley,  and  some  other  locahties  in  New  Eng- 
land, where  it  is  profitably  produced  for  the  making  of  cigars, 
particularly  wrappers. 


TOBACCO. 


275 


The  Soil  may  be  a  light  loamj  sand,  or  it  may  be  alluvial, 
well  drained  and  fertile.  New  land,  free  of  weeds  and  full  of  saline 
matters,  is  best  suited  to  it,  and  next  to  this  is  a  rich  grass  sod, 
which  has  long  remained  untilled.  The  seed  should  be  sown  in 
beds  which  should  be  kept  clean,  as  the  plant  is  small  and  slow 
of  growth  in  the  early  stages  of  its  existence,  and  is  easily 
smothered  by  weeds.  If  not  newly  cleared,  the  seed  beds  should 
be  burned  with  a  heavy  coating  of  brush. 

Cultivation. — The  beds  should  be  well  pulverized,  and  the 
seed  sown  at  the  rate  of  a  table  spoonful  to  every  two  square 
rods.  The  seeds  are  so  minute,  that  sowing  evenly  is  scarcely 
attainable,  unless  by  first  mixing  with  three  or  four  times  its  bulk 
of  fine  mold.  This  should  be  done  sufficiently  early  to  secure 
proper  maturity  to  the  plants,  in  time  for  transplanting,  (say  by 
the  last  of  February  or  early  in  March,  south  of  the  Ohio  and 
Potomac,  and  about  the  first  of  April,  north  of  them,)  covering 
lightly,  and  completely  rolling  or  treading  down  the  earth.  The 
plant  appears  in  fifteen  or  twenty  days,  and  will  be  fit  for  trans- 
planting in  six  or  eight  weeks.  This  should  be  done  in  damp 
weather,  and  the  plants  set  singly,  at  a  distance  of  two  and  a 
half  to  three  feet  each  way.  The  after  culture  is  like  that  of 
corn,  and  consists  of  firequently  stirring  the  ground,  with  the  plow, 
or  cultivator  and  hoe,  and  keeping  down  weeds.  The  places  of 
such  plants  as  fail,  or  are  blighted,  must  be  at  once  filled  up,  and 
all  worms  destroyed. 

The  Pbiming,  Topping  and  Suckering,  are  necessary  opera- 
tions. The  first  consists  in  breaking  off  four  or  five  of  the  leaves 
next  the  ground  which  are  valueless ;  the  second  is  taking  off  the 
top,  to  prevent  the  seed  stalk  from  developing,  and  is  regulated 
by  the  kind  of  tobacco.  The  first  topping  will  always  admit  of 
a  greater  number  of  leaves  being  left ;  and  in  proportion  as  the 
season  advances,  fewer  leaves  should  be  left.  The  heavier  kinds 
of  tobacco  are  generally  topped,  early  in  the  season,  to  twelve 
leaves,  then  to  ten,  and  still  later  to  eight.  The  fighter  kinds  are 
topped  to  a  greater  number  of  leaves.    If  the  soil  is  light,  fewer 


276 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


leaves  should  be  left.  Suckering  consists  in  breaking  off  the 
young  side  shoots,  which  should  be  done  immediately  after  they 
make  their  appearance. 

Harvesting  may  be  commenced  with  such  plants  as  have 
become  sufficiently  ripe,  which  is  indicated  by  greenish,  yellow 
spots  on  the  leaves.  This  will  generally  occur  in  August  at  the 
South,  and  in  September  at  the  North.  The  stem  of  the  plant  is 
cut  near  the  ground,  and  allowed  to  wilt,  but  not  exposed  to  a 
hot  sun.  If  there  is  danger  of  this,  it  should  be  cut  only  in  the 
morning  or  evening.  When  properly  wilted,  which  will  be  in  a 
few  hours,  it  may  be  carefully  carried  to  the  drying  house,  where 
it  should  be  hung  up  by  twine  tied  to  the  butt  end  of  the  stalk, 
and  suspended  over  poles,  at  drying  distances,  with  the  head 
downwards.  The  circulation  of  air  is  necessary  in  the  drying 
houses,  but  there  must  be  entire  safety  against  storms  or  winds, 
as  the  leaves  are  Hable  to  break  by  agitation,  and  rain  seriously 
injures  them.  When  the  stem  in  the  leaf  has  become  hard,  it  is 
sufficiently  dried.  This  takes  place  in  good  weather,  in  two  or 
three  months.  The  leaves  may  be  stripped  in  damp  weather, 
when  they  will  not  crumble,  and  carefully  bound  in  small  bundles, 
termed  hands,  and  then  boxed  for  shipment. 

The  Varieties  of  tobacco  are  numerous,  not  less  than  twelve 
being  cultivated  in  America,  and  they  are  adapted  to  the  different 
soils  and  climates  where  they  are  grown.  The  most  fragrant  are 
produced  in  Cuba,  and  are  almost  exclusively  used  for  cigars. 
They  command  several  times  the  price  of  ordinary  kinds.  The 
leaves  of  the  Connecticut  river  tobacco  are  now  largely  used  as 
cigar  wrappers,  being  of  excellent  quality  for  that  purpose.  The 
tobacco  of  Virginia,  Maryland,  Kentucky,  and  some  adjoining 
States,  is  peculiarly  rich  and  high  flavored,  and  is  most  esteemed 
for  chewing. 

Much  of  the  peculiar  flavor  and  value  of  tobacco  depends  on 
the  soil,  and  the  preparation  or  sweating  of  the  plant  after  dry- 
ing. The  former  should  not  be  too  rich,  and  never  highly  ma- 
nured, as  the  %vor  is  thereby  materially  injured  though  the 


/ 


INDIGO.  277 

product  will  be  increased.    Yet  it  is  an  exhausting  crop,  as  is 
seen  bj  the  large  quantity  and  the  analysis  of  the  ash,  and  the 
soil  requires  a  constant  renewal  of  well  fermented  manures,  and 
particularly  the  saline  ingredients,  to  prevent  exhaustion.  To- 
bacco contains  nitrogen  and  the  alkalies  in  large  quantities,  and 
but  very  little  of  the  phosphates.  The  ash  is  shown  in  the  analy- 
sis of  Fresenius  and  Will,  to  consist  of  potash,  30.67;  lime, 
(mostly,  with  a  little  magnesia,)  33.36;  gypsum,  5.60;  common 
salt,  0.95;  phosphates,  6.03;  silica,  18.39;  in  100  parts  of  the 
ash.    The  inferior  kinds  contain  a  large  proportion  of  lime ;  and 
the  superior,  the  largest  of  potash.    The  customary  method  of 
burning  fuel  on  the  beds  designed  for  tobacco,  and  the  use  of 
freshly  cleared  and  burnt  lands,  by  which  the  largest  crops  of  the 
best  quality  are  obtained,  shows  conclusively  the  proper  treat- 
ment required.    By  each  of  these  operations,  the  ground  is  not 
only  loosened  in  the  best  possible  manner,  and  all  insects  and 
weeds  destroyed,  but  the  salts,  and  especially  potash,  are  produced 
in  the  greatest  abundance.    Some  of  the  best  soils  in  Virginia 
have  been  ruined  by  a  constant  succession  of  tobacco  crops,  the 
necessary  result  of  neglect  in  supplying  them  with  the  constitu- 
ents  of  fertility  so  largely  abstracted.    The  yield  per  acre  is  gen- 
erally from  1,500  to  2,500  pounds,  and  it  is  a  profitable  crop 
when  the  best  kinds  are  properly  cultivated,  under  favorable  cir- 
cumstances of  soil,  climate,  etc. 

INDIGO,  (iNDIGOFERA  TINCTORIA,) 

Was  formerly  cultivated  at  the  South  to  a  limited  degree,  but 
the  introduction  of  cotton  and  the  great  profits  which  it  yielded, 
and  its  consequent  rapid  extension,  drove  the  culture  of  indigo 
on  to  foreign  soils.  The  increasing  consumption  of  indigo  in  this 
country,  will  probably  again  make  it  an  object  of  agricultural 
attention  in  those  States  where  the  soil  and  climate  are  suited  to 
It.  We  have  no  detailed  history  of  its  cultivation  in  the  United 
States,  and  we  quote  from  Loudon.    He  says: 

"It  is  one  of  the  most  profitable  crops  in  Hindostan,  because 
labor  and  land  here  are  cheaper  than  any  where  else;  and 


278  AMERICAN  AGKIGULTURE. 

because  the  raising  of  the  plant  and  its  manufacture  may  be  car- 
ried on  without  even  the  aid  of  a  house.    The  first  step  m  the 
culture  of  the  plant  is  to  render  the  ground,  which  should  be 
friable  and  rich,  perfectly  free  from  weeds,  and  dry,  if  naturally 
moist.    The  seeds  are  then  sown  in  shallow  drills,  about  a  foot 
apart.    The  rainy  season  must  be  chosen  for  sowing,  otherwise, 
if  the  seed  is  deposited  in  dry  soil,  it  heats,  corrupts,  and  is  lost. 
The  crop  being  kept  clear  of  weeds,  is  fit  for  cutting  in  two  or 
three  months,  and  this  may  be  repeated  in  rainy  seasons  every 
six  weeks.    The  plants  must  not  be  allowed  to  come  into  flower, 
as  the  leaves  in  that  case  become  dry  and  hard,  and  the  indigo 
produced  is  of  less  value;  nor  must  they  be  cut  in  dry  weather, 
as  they  would  not  spring  again.     A  crop  generaUy  lasts  two 
years.    Being  cut,  the  herb  is  first  steeped  in  a  vat  till  it  has 
become  macerated,  and  has  parted  with  its  coloring  matter;  then 
the  hquor  is  let  off  into  another,  in  which  it  undergoes  the  pecu- 
har  process  of  beating,  to  cause  the  fecula  to  separate  from  the 
water.    This  fecula  is  let  off  into  a  third  vat,  where  it  remams 
some  time,  and  is  then  strained  through  cloth  bags,  and  evapo- 
rated in  shallow  wooden  boxes  placed  in  the  shade.    Before  it  is 
perfectly  dry,  it  is  cut  in  smaU  pieces  of  an  inch  square;  it  is  then 
packed  in  barrels,  or  sewed  up  in  sacks,  for  sale." 

Indigo  can  only  be  raised  to  advantage  in  our  most  southern 
States.  The  soil  requires  to  be  dry,  finely  pulverized,  and  rich. 
The  seed  is  sown  early  in  April,  in  drills  about  eighteen  inches 
apart,  and  the  weeds  are  kept  down  with  the  hoe.  It  should  be 
cut  with  a  sickle  or  scythe,  when  the  lower  leaves  begin  to  turn, 
and  just  before  the  plant  is  going  into  flower.  This  period  occurs 
in  this  country  about  the  middle  of  summer.  A  second  crop 
may  be  taken  the  first  of  autumn,  and  in  hotter  climates  even  a 
third  one.  ' 

It  has  been  estimated  that  Louisiana  wiU  raise  from  forty  to 
sixty  pounds  of  indigo,  not  inferior  to  the  best  Caraccas,  selling 
at  two  dollars  per  pound.  It  takes  only  from  July  to  October 
to  mature,  and  it  does  not  demand  one-third  of  the  time  or 


MADDER.  279 

expense  for  raising,  as  that  of  a  cotton  crop.  The  consumption 
of  indigo  in  this  country,  amounts  to  several  mHlions  of  dollars, 
annuaUy.  There  are  several  varieties  indigenous  to  the  Southern 
States,  and  one  or  more  in  the  Northern,  which  yield  inferior  dye. 

MADDER,  (rUBIA  TINOTORUM,) 

Used  for  several  dyes,  but  principally  for  the  rich  madder  red, 
has  long  been  an  object  of  attention  in  the  United  States! 
The  introduction  of  this,  with  numerous  other  articles  consequent 
upon  the  extended  growth  of  our  manufactures,  shows  the  inti- 
mate and  mutuaUy  beneficial  effects  of  associating  the  two  lead- 
ing industrial  occupations  of  agriculture  and  manufactures.  The 
principal  cause  which  has  prevented  its  cultivation  among  us, 
thus  far,  has  been  the  long  time  required  for  maturing  a  crop! 
We  subjoin  a  description  of  its  culture,  from  Mr.  Bateham. 

Soil  and  Preparation.— "The  soH  should  be  a  deep,  rich, 
sandy  loam,  free  from  weeds,  roots,  stones,  etc.,  and  containing  a 
good  portion  of  vegetable  earth.  Alluvial  bottom  land  is  the 
most  suitable ;  but  it  must  not  be  wet.  If  old  upland  is  -used,  it 
^should  receive  a  heavy  coating  of  vegetable  earth,  (from  decayed 
wood  and  leaves.)  The  land  should  be  plowed  very  deep  in  the 
fall,  and  early  in  the  spring  apply  about  one  hundred  loads  of  weU 
rotted  manure  per  acre,  spread  evenly,  and  plow  in  deeply, 
then  harrow  till  quite  fine  and  free  from  lumps.  Next,  plow  the 
land  into  beds  four  feet  wide,  leaving  alleys  between,  three  feet 
wide,  then  harrow  the  beds  with  a  fine,  light  harrow,  or  rake 
them  by  hand  so  as  to  leave  them  smooth,  and  even  with  the 
alleys;  they  are  then  ready  for  planting. 

Preparing  Sets  and  Planting.— Madder  sets,  or  seed  roots, 
are  best  selected  when  the  crop  is  dug  in  the  faH.  The  horizon! 
tal  uppermost  roots,  (with  eyes,)  are  the  kind  to  be  used;  these 
should  be  separated  from  the  bottom  roots,  and  buried  in  sand, 
in  a  cellar  or  pit.  If  not  done  in  the  fall,  the  sets  may  be  dug  early 
m  the  spring,  before  they  begin  to  sprout.  They  should  be  cut 
or  broken  into  pieces,  containing  from  two  to  five  eyes  each;  i.  e. 


280 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


three  to  four  inches  long.  The  time  for  planting  is  as  early  in 
spring  as  the  ground  can  be  got  in  good  order,  and  severe  frosts 
are  over,  which,  in  this  climate,  is  usually  about  the  middle  of 
April.  With  the  beds  prepared  as  directed,  stretch  a  line  length- 
wise the  bed,  and  with  the  corner  of  a  hoe  make  a  drill  two 
inches  deep,  along  each  edge  and  down  the  middle,  so  as  to  give 
three  rows  to  each  bed,  about  two  feet  apart.  Into  these  drills 
drop  the  sets,  ten  inches  apart,  covering  them-  two  inches  deep. 
Eight  or  ten  bushels  of  sets  are  requisite  for  an  acre. 

After  Culture. — "As  soon  as  the  madder  plants  can  be 
seen,  the  ground  should  be  carefuUy  hoed,  so  as  to  destroy  the 
weeds  and  not  injure  the  plants;  and  the  hoeing  and  weeding 
must  be  repeated  as  often  as  weeds  make  their  appearance.  If 
any  of  the  sets  have  failed  to  grow,  the  vacancies  should  be 
filled  by  taking  up  parts  of  the  strongest  roots  and  transplanting 
them;  this  is  best  done  in  June.  As  soon  as  the  madder  plants 
are  ten  or  twelve  inches  high,  the  tops  are  to  be  bent  down  on 
to  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  all  except  the  tip  end,  covered 
with  earth,  shoveled  from  the  middle  of  the  alleys.  Bend  the 
shoots  outward  and  inward,  in  every  direction,  so  as  in  time  to  ^ 
fill  all  the  vacant  space  on  the  beds,  and  about  one  foot  on  each 
side.  After  the  first  time  covering,  repeat  the  weeding  when 
necessary,  and  run  a  single  horse  plow  through  the  alleys  several 
times  to  keep  the  earth  clean  and  mellow.  As  soon  as  the  plants 
again  become  ten  or  twelve  inches  high,  bend  down  and  cover 
them  as  before,  repeating  the  operation  as  often  as  necessary, 
which  is  commonly  three  times  the  first  season.  The  last  time 
may  be  as  late  as  September,  or  later,  if  no  frosts  occur.  By 
covering  the  tops  in  this  manner,  they  change  to  roots,  and  the 
design  is  to  fill  the  ground  as  full  of  roots  as  possible.  When 
the  vacant  spaces  are  all  full,  there  will  be  but  little  chance  for 
weeds  to  grow ;  but  all  that  appear  must  be  pulled  out. 

The  Second  Year. — "Keep  the  beds  free  from  weeds;  plow 
the  alleys  and  cover  the  tops,  as  before  directed,  two  or  three 
times  during  the  sep-son.     The  alleys  will  now  form  deep  and 


MADDEB.  281 

narrow  ditches,  and  if  it  becomes  difficult  to  obtain  good  earth 
for  covering  the  tops,  that  operation  may  be  omitted  after  the 
second  time  this  season.  Care  should  be  taken,  when  covering 
the  tops,  to  keep  the  edges  of  the  beds  as  high  as  the  middle; 
otherwise  the  water  from  heavy  showers  wUl  run  off,  and  the 
crop  suffer  from  drought. 

The  Third  Year.— «  Very  little  labor  or  attention  is  required. 
The  plants  will  now  cover  the  whole  ground.  If  any  weeds  are 
seen,  they  must  be  pulled  out;  otherwise  their  roots  will  cause 
trouble  when  harvesting  the  madder.  The  crop  is  sometimes 
dug  the  third  year;  and  if  the  soil  and  cultivation  have  been 
good,  and  the  seasons  warm  and  favorable,  the  madder  will  be 
of  good  quality;  but  generally,  it  is  much  better  in  quahty,  and 
more  m  quantity,  when  left  until  the  fourth  year. 

Digging  and  Harvesting.— "  This  should  be  done  between 
the  twentieth  of  August  and  the  twentieth  of  September.  Take 
a  sharp  shovel,  or  shovels,  and  cut  off  and  remove  the  tops  with 
half  an  inch  of  the  surface  of  the  earth;  then  take  a  plow  of  the 
largest  size,  with  a  sharp  coulter  and  a  double  team,  and  plow 
a  furrow  outward,  beam  deep,  around  the  edge  of  the  bed;  stir 
the  earth  with  forks,  and  carefully  pick  out  all  the  roots,  remov- 
mg  the  earth  from  the  bottom  of  the  furrow;  then  plow  another 
furrow,  beam  deep,  as  before,  and  pick  over  and  remove  the 
earth  m  the  same  manner;  thus  proceeding  untU  the  whole  is 
completed. 

Washing  and  Drying.-"As  soon  as  possible  after  digging 
take  the  roots  to  some  runnmg  stream  to  be  washed.    If  there 
IS  no  runnmg  stream  convenient,  it  can  be  done  at  a  pump  Take 
large,  round  sieves,  two  and  a  half  or  three  feet  in  diameter,  with 
the  wire  about  as  fine  as  wheat  sieves ;  or  if  these  cannot  be  had 
get  from  a  hardware  store  sufficient  screen  wire  of  the  right  fine- 
ness, and  make  frames  or  boxes  about  two  and  a  half  feet  long 
and  the  width  of  the  wire,  on  the  bottom  of  which  nail  the  wire 
In  these  sieves  or  boxes,  put  half  a  bushel  of  roots  at  a  time 
and  stir  them  about  in  the  water,  pulling  the  bunches  apart  so  as 


282 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


to  wash  them  clean;  then,  having  a  platform  at  hand,  lay  them 
on  it  to  dry.  (To  make  the  platform,  take  two  or  three  common 
boards,  so  as  to  be  about  four  feet  in  width,  and  nail  elects  across 
the  under  side.)  On  these  spread  the  roots  about  two  inches 
thick,  for  drying  in  the  sun.  Carry  the  platforms  to  a  convenient 
place,  not  far  from  the  house,  and  place  them  side  by  side,  in 
rows  east  and  west,  and  with  their  ends  north  and  south,  leaving 
room  to  walk  between  the  rows.  Elevate  the  south  ends  of  the 
platforms  about  eighteen  inches,  and  the  north  ends  about  six 
inches  from  the  ground,  putting  poles  or  sticks  to  support  them ; 
this  will  greatly  facilitate  drying.  After  the  second  or  third 
day's  drying,  the  madder  must  be  protected  from  the  dews  at 
night,  and  from  rain,  placing  the  platforms  one  upon  another,  to 
a  convenient  height,  and  covering  the  uppermost  one  with  boards. 
Spread  them  out  again  in  the  morning,  or  as  soon  as  the  danger 
is  over.  Five  or  six  days  of  ordinarily  fine  weather  will  dry  the 
madder  sufficiently,  when  it  may  be  put  away  till  it  is  convenient 
to  kiln-dry  and  grind  it. 

Kiln-drying. — "The  size  and  mode  of  constructing  the  kiln 
may  be  varied  to  suit  circumstances.  The  following  is  a  very 
cheap  plan,  and  sufficient  to  dry  one  ton  of  roots  at  a  time. 
Place  four  strong  posts  in  the  ground,  twelve  feet  apart  one  way, 
and  eighteen  the  other;  the  front  two  fourteen  feet  high,  and  the 
others  eighteen ;  put  girts  across  the  bottom,  middle  and  top ;  and 
nail  boards  perpendicularly  on  the  outside  as  for  a  common  barn. 
The  boards  must  be  well  seasoned,  and  all  cracks  or  holes  should 
be  plastered  or  otherwise  stopped  up.  Make  a  shed  roof  of  com- 
mon boards.  In  the  inside  put  upright  standards  about  five  feet 
apart,  with  cross  pieces,  to  support  the  scafiblding.  The  first 
cross  pieces  to  be  four  feet  from  the  floor;  the  next  two  feet 
higher,  and  so  on  to  the  top.  On  these  cross  pieces  lay  small 
poles  about  six  feet  long  and  two  inches  thick,  four  or  five  inches 
apart.  On  these  scaffolds  the  madder  is  to  be  spread  nine  inches 
thick.  A  floor  is  laid  at  the  bottom,  to  keep  all  dry  and  clean. 
When  the  kiln  is  filled,  take  six  or  eight  small  kettles  or  hand 


woAD.  283 

furnaces,  and  place  them  four  or  five  feet  apart  on  the  floor,  (first 
securing  it  from  fire  with  bricks  or  stones,)  and  make  fires  in 
them  with  charcoal,  being  careful  not  to  make  any  of  the  fires  so 
large  as  to  scorch  the  madder  over  them.  A  person  must  be  in 
constant  attendance  to  watch  and  replenish  the  fires.  The  heat 
will  ascend  through  the  whole,  and  in  ten  or  twelve  hours  it  will 
all  be  sufficiently  dried,  which  is  known  by  its  becoming  brittle 
like  pipe-stems. 

BREAKiNa  AND  GRINDING. — "Immediately  afler  being  dried, 
the  madder  must  be  taken  to  the  barn  and  threshed  with  flails,  or 
broken  by  machinery,  (a  mill  might  easily  be  constructed  for  this 
purpose,)  so  that  it  will  feed  in  a  common  grist  mill.  If  it  is  not 
broken  and  ground  immediately,  it  will  gather  dampness  so  as  to 
prevent  its  grinding  freely.  Any  common  grist  mill  can  grind 
madder  properly.  When  ground  finely  it  is  fit  for  use,  and  may 
be  packed  in  barrels  like  flour,  for  market." 
,  Mr.  Swift,  of  Ohio,  has  raised  2,000  barrels  per  acre  in  one 
crop  of  four  years'  growth,  at  a  net  profit,  including  all  charges 
of  rent,  etc.,  of  $200  per  acre.  The  roots  of  madder  are  also  a 
good  food  for  cattle,  but  the  expense  and  delay  of  producing  it, 
unfit  it  for  this  use  among  us. 

WOAD,  (iSATIS  TINCTORIA,) 

is  considerably  used  in  this  country  for  dyeing,  and  generally 
as  a  base  for  blues,  blacks  and  some  other  colors,  and  for  these  it 
supplies  the  place  of  indigo.  There  are  several  varieties  of  woad, 
but  the  common  biennial  plant  is  the  only  one  cultivated.  Lou- 
don says: 

"The  Soil  for  woad  should  be  deep  and  perfectly  fresh,  such 
as  those  of  the  rich,  mellow,  loamy,  and  deep  vegetable  kind. 
"Where  this  culture  is  carried  to  a  considerable  degree  of  perfec- 
tion, the  deep,  rich,  putrid,  alluvial  soils  on  the  flat  tracts  extend- 
ing upon  the  borders  of  the  large  rivers,  are  chiefly  employed  for 
the  growth  of  this  sort  of  crop ;  and  it  has  been  shown  by  repeated 
trials  that  it  answers  most  perfectly  when  they  are  broken  up  for 
it  immediately  from  a  state  of  sward. 


284 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


''The  preparation  of  the  soil,  when  woad  is  to  be  grown  on 
grass  land,  maj  either  be  effected  by  deep  plowings,  with  the  aid 
of  the  winter's  frost,  cross  plowing  and  harrowing  in  spring;  by 
paring  and  burning;  or  by  trench  plowing,  or  spade  trenching. 
The  first  mode  appears  the  worst,  as  it  is  next  to  impossible  to 
reduce  old  turf  in  one  year,  and,  even  if  this  is  done,  the  danger 
from  the  grub  and  wire  worm  is  a  sufficient  argument  against  it. 
By  plowing  deep  in  February,  and  soon  afterwards  sowing,  the 
plants  may  germinate  before  the  grub  is  able  to  rise  to  the  sur- 
face ;  by  trench  plowing,  the  same  purpose  will  be  better  attained ; 
and,  best  of  all,  by  spade  trenching.    But  a  method  equally  effect- 
ual with  the  first,  more  expeditious,  and  more  destructive  to 
grubs,  insects,  and  other  vermin,  which  are  apt  to  feed  on  the 
plants  in  their  early  growth,  is  that  of  paring  and  burning.  This 
is,  however,  chiefly  practiced  where  the  sward  is  rough  and 
abounds  with  rushes,  sedge,  and  other  plants  of  the  coarse  kind, 
but  it  might  be  had  recourse  to  on  others,  with  benefit. 
^    ^'The  mode  of  Sowing  is  generally  broadcast,  but  the  plant 
might  be  most  advantageously  grown  in  rows  and  cultivated  with 
the  horse  hoe.    The  rows  may  be  nine  inches  or  a  foot  apart,  and 
the  seed  deposited  two  inches  deep.    The  quantity  of  seed  for 
the  broadcast  method  is  five  or  six  pounds  to  the  acre;  for  the 
drill  mode,  two  pounds  are  more  than  sufficient,  the  seed  being 
smaller  than  that  of  the  turnip.    New  seed,  where  it  can  be 
procured,  should  always  be  sown  in  preference  to  old ;  but,  when 
of  the  latter  kind,  it  should  be  steeped  for  sometime  before  it  is 
put  into  the  ground.    The  time  of  sowing  may  be  extended  from 
February  to  July.    Early  sowing,  however,  is  to  be  preferred,  as 
in  that  case  the  plants  come  up  stronger,  and  afford  more  produce 
the  first  season.    The  after  culture  of  the  woad  consists  in  hoeing, 
thinning,  prong-stirring,  and  weeding,  which  operations  may  be 
practiced  by  hand  or  horse  tools,  as  in  the  culture  of  teazel. 

Gathering  the  Crops. — "The  leaves  of  the  spring  sown 
plants  will  generally  be  ready  towards  the  latter  end  of  June  oi 
beginning  of  July,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  soil,  season  and 


WOAD.  285 

climate;  the  leaves  of  those  put  in  at  a  later  period  in  the  summer 
are  often  fit  to  be  gathered  earlier.    This  business  should,  how- 
ever,  constantly  be  executed  as  soon  as  the  leaves  are  fully  grown 
while  they  retain  their  perfect  green  color,  and  are  highly  succu- 
lent; as  when  they  are  let  remain  till  they  begin  to  turn  pale, 
much  of  their  goodness  is  said  to  be  expended,  and  they  become 
less  in  quantity,  and  of  an  inferior  quahty  for  the  purposes  of  the 
dyer.    Where  the  lands  are  well  managed,  they  will  often  afford 
two  or  three  gatherings,  but  the  belt  cultivators  seldom  take  more 
than  two,  which  are  sometimes  mixed  together  in  the  manufac- 
turing.   It  is  necessary  that  the  after-croppings,  when  they  are 
taken,  should  be  constantly  kept  separate  from  the  others,  as  they 
would  injure  the  whole  if  blended,  and  considerably  diminish  the 
value  of  the  produce.    It  is  said  that  the  best  method,  where  a 
third  cropping  is  either  wholly  or  partially  made,  is  to  keep  it 
separate,  forming  it  into  an  inferior  kind  of  woad.    In  the  execu- 
tion of  this  sort  of  business,  a  number  of  baskets  are  usually  pro- 
vided m  proportion  to  the  extent  of  the  crop,  and  into  these  the 
leaves  are  thrown  as  they  are  taken  from  the  plants.    The  leaves 
are  detached  fi-om  the  plants,  by  grasping  them  firmly  with  the 
hand,  and  giving  them  a  sort  of  sudden  twist.    In  favorable  sea- 
sons,  where  the  soils  are  rich,  the  plants  will  often  rise  to  the 
height  of  eight  or  ten  inches;  but  in  other  circumstances,  they 
seldom  attain  more  than  four  or  five. 

"The  produce  is  mostly  from  about  a  ton  to  a  ton  and  a  half 
of  green  leaves.  The  price  varies  considerable ;  but  for  woad  of 
the  prime  quaUty,  it  is  often  from  $125  to  $150  per  ton,  and  for 
that  of  an  inferior  quality  $30  or  $35,  and  sometimes  much  more. 

"To  prepare  it  for  the  dyer,  it  is  bruised  by  machinery  to 
express  the  watery  part;  it  is  afterwards  formed  into  balls  and 
fermented,  re-ground,  and  fermented  in  vats,  where  it  is  evapora- 
ted mto  cakes  in  the  manner  of  indigo.  The  haulm  is  burned  for 
manure  or  spread  over  the  straw-yard,  to  be  fermented  along  with 
steaw  dung.  To  save  seed,  leave  some  of  the  plants  undenuded 
of  their  leaves  the  second  year,  and  when  it  is  ripe,  in  July  or 


286 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


August,  treat  it  like  turnip  seed.  The  only  diseases  to  which 
the  woad  is  liable,  are  the  mildew  and  rust.  When  young  it  is 
often  attacked  by  the  fly,  and  the  ground  obliged  to  be  re-sown, 
and  this  more  than  once  even  on  winter-plowed  grass  lands." 

WELD  OR  dyers'  WEED,  (rESEDA  LUTEOLA.) 

Weld  is  much  used  by  the  manufacturers  of  various  fabrics  as 
a  dye.  It  has  not  to  our  knowledge  been  cultivated  in  this  coun- 
try. We  again  quote  from  Loudon:  "Weld  is  an  imperfect 
biennial,  with  small  fusiform  roots,  and  a  leafy  stem  from  one  to 
three  feet  in  height.  It  is  a  native  of  Britain,  flowers  in  June 
and  July,  and  ripens  its  seeds  in  August  and  September.  Its 
culture  may  be  considered  the  same  as  that  of  woad,  only  being 
a  smaller  plant  it  is  not  thinned  out  to  so  great  a  distance.  It 
has  this  advantage  for  the  farmer  over  all  other  coloring  plants, 
that  it  only  requires  to  be  taken  up  and  dried,  when  it  is  fit  for 
the  dyer.    It  is,  however,  an  exhausting  crop. 

"  Weld  will  grow  on  any  soil,  but  fertile  loams  produce  the 
best  crops.  The  soil  being  brought  to  a  fine  tilth,  the  seed  is 
sown  in  April  or  the  beginning  of  May,  generally  broadcast. 
The  quantity  of  seed  is  from  two  quarts  to  a  gallon  per  acre,  and 
it  should  either  be  fresh,  or,  if  two  or  three  years  old,  steeped  a 
few  days  in  water  previously  to  being  sown.  Being  a  biennial, 
and  no  advantage  obtained  from  it  the  first  year,  it  is  sometimes 
sown  with  grain  crops  in  the  manner  of  clover,  which,  when  the 
«oil  is  in  a  very  rich  state,  may  answer,  provided  that  hoeing, 
weeding  and  stirring  take  place  as  soon  as  the  grain  crop  is  cut. 
The  best  crops,  however,  will  obviously  be  the  result  of  drilling 
and  cultivating  the  crop  alone.  The  drills  may  be  a  foot  asunder, 
and  the  plants  thinned  to  six  inches  in  the  row.  In  the  broad- 
cast mode,  it  is  usual  to  thin  them  to  six  or  eight  inches'  distance 
every  way.  Often,  when  weld  succeeds  grain  crops,  it  is  never 
either  thinned,  weeded  or  hoed,  but  left  to  itself  till  the  plants  are 
in  fiill  blossom. 

"  The  crop  is  taken  by  pulling  up  the  entire  plant ;  and  the 
proper  period  for  this  purpose  is  when  the  bloom  has  been  pro- 


WKLD  OR  DYPJRS'  WEED. 


287 


duced  the  whole  length  of  the  stems,  and  the  plants  are  just  be- 
ginning to  turn  of  a  light  or  yellowish  color ;  as  in  the  beginning 
or  middle  of  July  in  the  second  year.  The  plants  are  usually 
from  one  foot  to  two  feet  and  a  half  in  height.  It  is  thought  by 
some  advantageous  to  pull  it  rather  early,  without  waiting  for  the 
ripening  of  the  seeds ;  as  by  this  means  there  will  not  only  be  the 
greatest  proportion  of  dye,  but  the  land  will  be  left  at  liberty  for 
the  reception  of  a  crop  of  wheat  or  turnips  ;  in  this  case,  a  small 
part  must  be  left  solely  for  the  purpose  of  seed.  In  the  execution 
of  the  work,  the  plants  are  drawn  up  by  the  roots  in  small  hand- 
fiils ;  and  after  each  handful  has  been  tied  up  with  one  of  the 
stalks,  they  are  set  up  in  fours  in  an  erect  position,  and  left  to  dry. 
Sometimes,  however,  they  become  sufficiently  dry  by  turning 
without  being  set  up.  After  they  have  remained  till  fully  dry, 
which  is  mostly  effected  in  the  course  of  a  week  or  two,  they  are 
bound  up  into  larger  bundles,  each  containing  sixty  handfuls,  and 
weighing  fifty-six  pounds.  Sixty  of  these  bundles  constitute  a 
load,  and  in  places  where  this  kind  of  crop  is  much  grown,  are 
tied  up  by  a  string  made  for  the  purpose,  which  is  sold  under  the 
title  of  weld-cord. 

"The  produce  of  weld  depends  much  on  the  nature  of  the 
season  ;  but  from  half  a  load  to  a  load  and  a  half  per  acre  is  the 
quantity  most  commonly  afforded.  It  is  usually  sold  to  the  dyers 
at  from  five  or  six  to  ten  or  twelve  pounds  the  load,  and  some- 
times at  considerable  more.  It  is  mostly  bought  by  persons  who 
afterwards  dispose  of  it  to  the  dyers.  The  demand  for  it  is  some- 
times very  little,  while  at  others  it  is  so  great  as  to  raise  the  price 
to  a  high  degree.  It  is  sometimes  gathered  green  and  treated 
like  woad  or  indigo ;  but  in  general  the  dried  herb  is  used  by  the 
dyers  in  a  state  of  decoction. 

"  The  use  of  weld  in  dyeing  is  for  giving  a  yellow  color  to 
cotton,  woolen,  mohair,  silk  and  linen.  Blue  cloths  are  dipped 
in  a  decoction  of  it,  which  renders  them  green ;  and  the  yellow 
color  of  the  paint  called  Dutch  pink  is  obtained  from  weld.  To 
save  seed,  select  a  few  of  the  largest  and  healthiest  plants,  and 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTCEE. 

leave  them  to  ripen.  The  seed  is  easily  separated  The  chief 
disease  of  weld  is  the  rnHdew,  to  which  it  is  very  hable  when 
young,  and  this  is  the  reason  that  it  is  often  sown  with  other 
crops." 

SUMACH,  (RHUS  GLABEUM,  R.  CORIARIA  AND  E.  COTINXTS.) 

The  Rhus  Glahrum  is  the  common  sumach  of  the  United  Stages 
which  grows  spontaneously  on  fertile  soils.    It  is  considerably 
used  by  dyers,  and  the  tanners  of  light  leather.    It  is  however, 
much  inferior  to  the  R.  Goriara  or  Sicilian  sumach,  which  is  im- 
ported into  this  country  from  Spain,  Portugal,  Sicily  Syria  and 
Lewhere,  and  sells  at  from  $50  to  $120  per  ton.   It  is  a  dwarf 
bushy  shrub,  smaller  than  the  American,  but  with  much  larger 
leaves.    These  with  the  seed  cones  and  young  stems  are  all 
used  by  the  manufacturers.    The  R.  Cotvnus  or  Venice  sumach, 
is  the  fringe  tree  or  burning  bush,  a  shrub  for  ornamental  grounds 
beSL  alossy,  drab  colored  blossom.    It  is  known  m  England 
as  young  fiistic,  and  is  much  used  in  the  arts.    This  has  not  been 
a  ye,,  I  article  of  much  production  in  the  United  States  but  we 
see  n;  good  reason  why  it  may  not  be  introduced  into  many 
localities  with  decided  profit. 

Cultivation  and  Te.atment.-A11  the  sumachs  are  propa. 
gated  by  layers,  though  it  is  probable  they  might  under  favorable 
ScumsLces,  be  raised  from  the  seed.  On  good  soils  they  grow 
in  great  profusion.  The  harvesting  consists  simply  m  cutting  off 
the  young  branches  with  the  leaves  and  seed  cones  attached,  in 
clear' wefther,  drying  them  thoroughly  without  exposure  o 
either  rain  or  dew,  and  packing  them  m  bales  of  about  160 

Tht"U  astringent,  often  taking  the  pl.e  of  g.ls^ 
This  quality  is  much  enhanced  by  warmth  of  chmate,  and  the 
most  vaJble  article  is  brought  from  the  -o«V"1rte7with 
There  is  no  doubt  this  species  of  plants  might  be  cultivated  w  ith 
great  profit  in  the  Southern  States,  and  thus  save  the  large  amount 
fnnua  ly  expended  in  its  importation,  which  is  constantly  mcreas- 


THE  TEASEL. 


289 


ing.    The  total  importation  is  now  estimated  at  between  one  and 
two  millions  of  dollars  per  annum. 

THE  TEASEL  OR^FULLEr's  THISTLE,  (dIPSACUS  FULLONUM,) 

Is  another  article  exclusively  used  by  the  manufacturers  for 
the  purpose  of  raising  a  nap,  or  combing  out  the  fibres  upon  the 
dressed  surface  of  woolen  cloth  or  flannels.  The  consumption 
cannot  of  course  be  extensive,  being  limited  exclusively  to  this 
demand.  There  is  but  one  kind  cultivated.  A  bastard  variety 
of  spontaneous  growth  exists  in  portions  of  our  Middle  States 
which  resembles  the  useful  teasel,  with  this  peculiar  difference, 
that  the  ends  of  the  awns  or  chaff  on  the  heads  are  straight 
instead  of  hooked,  which  renders  them  perfectly  useless. 

Cultivation. — The  teasel  is  a  biennial,  requiring  two  years  . 
to  mature.  It  is  sown  on  a  deep  loamy  clay,  previously  well 
plowed  and  harrowed,  in  drills  twenty  inches  asunder,  leaving  a 
plant  in  every  ten  inches,  or  in  hills  about  sixteen  inches  apart. 
The  ground  should  be  kept  light  by  occasional  stirring,  and  free 
from  weeds.  The  plants  are  generally  stronger  and  more  thrifty 
if  allowed  to  mature  where  sown,  and  to  accomplish  this,  the 
intermediate  spaces  between  the  hills  may  be  annually  planted 
with  new  seed.  Many  adopt  the  plan  of  sowing  in  beds  and  trans- 
planting. Although  hardy,  there  is  sometimes  an  advantage  in 
covering  the  beds  which  contain  the  young  plants  with  straw  dur- 
ing the  winter. 

Gathering. — Those  intended  for  use  should  be  cut  with  a 
stem  eight  inches  long  below  the  head,  just  as  it  is  going  out  of 
flower,  when  the  awns  are  the  toughest;  and  as  these  come  into 
maturity  at  different  times  in  the  same  plant,  ,  they  should  be  cut 
successively  as  they  come  forward.  Those  intended  for  seed, 
which  should  always  be  the  largest,  strongest  heads,  must  be 
suffered  to  remain  till  ripe,  when  they  can  be  gathered  antt 
threshed  with  the  flail.  The  others  should  be  thinly  spread  anu 
dried  under  cover  where  no  moisture  can  reach  them.  They  may 
then  be  assorted  into  three  parcels,  according  to  size  and  quality, 
13 


290 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


and  packed  in  large  sacks,  when  tliey  are  ready  for  market.  The 
crop  on  good  soils  well  cultivated,  may  be  stated  at  150,000  to 
200,000  per  acre,  worth  from  $1.50  to  $2.50  per  1,000. 

;  MUSTARD. 

There  are  two  species  of  mustard  used  for  field  cultivation;  the 
white,  {Sinapis  alba,)  and  the  hlacJc,  {S,  nigra,)  the  last  of  which 
is  generally  raised.  It  requires  a  rich  loamy  soil,  deeply  plowed 
and  well  harrowed.  It  may  be  sown,  either  broadcast,  in  drills 
about  two  feet  apart,  or  in  hills.  Mr.  Parmelee,  of  Ohio,  thus 
raised  on  twenty-seven  acres,  23,850  pounds,  which  brought  in 
the  Philadelphia  market,  $2,908;  an  average  of  over  $100  per 
acre.  The  ground  on  which  it  is  planted  must  be  frequently 
stirred,  and  kept  clear  of  weeds.  When  matured,  it  should  be 
carefully  cut  with  the  scythe  or  sickle,  and  if  so  ripe  as  to  shell, 
laid  into  a  wagon  box  with  tight  canvas  over  the  bottom  and 
sides,  so  as  to  prevent  waste.  As  soon  as  it  is  perfectly  dry,  it 
may  be  threshed  and  cleaned,  when  it  is  ready  for  market. 

The  mustard  is  a  valuable  crop  for  green  food  for  cattle  or 
sheep,  or  for  plowing  in  as  a  fertilizer.  The  following  experiment 
was  made  by  Mr.  Gray,  in  England,  in  1844,  an  account  of  which 
appears  in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society.  He 
says:  "The  land  on  which  it  is  growing  is  a  thin  stone-brash,  and 
very  poor.  It  had  been  manured  for  turnips  and  rape,  at  the  rate 
of  thirty  loads  an  acre,  with  compost,  consisting  of  two-thirds  lime 
and  one-third  road  earth;  and,  on  the  tenth  of  July,  the  turnip 
and  rape  seed  were  drilled  in  with  eighty  bushels  of  ashes  an 
acre.  It  came  up  slowly;  and,  with  very  few  exceptions,  was 
taken  off  by  the  £y.  On  the  twenty-eighth  of  August,  I  sowed 
twelve  pounds  of  whi^  mustard  seed  an  acre,  harrowing  in  the 
same.  It  was  slow  in  coming  up,  from  the  dryness  of  the  land; 
indeed,  at  one  time  I  despaired  of  a  crop,  but  when  the  rain  fell 
it  grew  prodigiously;  and  on  the  eleventh  day  of  October  I  com- 
menced feeding  it.  On  an  average  it  was  then  two  feet  high, 
and  very  thick  in  the  ground ;  you  will  judge,  from  the  specimen 


THE  HOP. 


291 


sent,  of  its  present  height — above  thirty  inches.  T  consider  it  a 
valuable  artificial  in  sheep  husbandrj,  and  particularly  so  when 
turnips  or  rape  fail;  and,  from  its  rapid  growth,  two,  or  even 
three  crops  may  be  taken  and  fed  off  in  the  season.  From  its 
great  succulency,  some  care  is  required  in  feeding  it  off.  Our 
sheep  are  doing  well  upon  it;  but  I  find  they  make  better  work, 
having  an  outlet  every  day  on  their  walk,  than  when  they  were 
wholly  confined  upon  it.  Four  hundred  consume  about  a  quarter 
of  an  acre  a  day,  or  thereabouts.  One  man  grew  a  most  excellent 
piece  of  mustard  last  autumn,  on  some  very  heavy  clay  land,  and 
without  manure.  His  sheep  being  badly  managed  when  feeding 
it  off,  he  plowed  in  a  considerable  quantity  for  his  wheat,  of 
which  he  had  a  splendid  crop,  and  certainly  the  best  he  grew  last 
season.  I  mention  this  circumstance,  believing  it  may  be  grown 
with  success  on  either  heavy  or  light  soils.  I  was  led  to  suppose 
it  might  be  greatly  affected  by  frosts,  but  we  have  experienced 
sufficient  to  destroy  the  potato  haulm  and  the  dahhas,  yet  it  has 
not  in  the  slightest  degree  affected  the  mustard;  I,  therefore,  con- 
clude it  must  be  severe  to  destroy  it.  The  seed  cost  145.  Qd. 
(about  $3.65)  per  bushel,  and  weighed  about  fifty  pounds." 

THE  HOP,  (hUMULUS  LUPULUS,) 

Of  which  there  are  several  varieties  indigenous  to  this  country, 
is  an  important  field  crop.  It  grows  best  on  a  strong  loam  or 
well  drained  clay  with  a  light  subsoil.  If  the  latter  be  retentive 
of  water,  the  hop  will  soon  dwindle  or  die  out.  If  made  suffi- 
ciently rich,  it  will  flourish  on  light  loams  or  gravels,  but  a  new, 
strong  soil  is  better,  and  this  requires  little  or  no  manure.  The 
most  desirable  exposure  is  a  gentle  slope  to  the  south,  but  this 
should  be  where  it  can  have  a  free  circulation  of  air  amidst  the 
tall,  luxuriant,  vegetable  growth. 

Cultivation. — If  the  land  has  been  long  in  use,  it  should  be 
thoroughly  dressed  with  compost  and  alkaline  manures,  or  what 
is  nearly  equivalent,  with  fresh  barn-yard  manures,  on  a  pre- 
viously well  hoed  crop,  made  perfectly  free  of  all  weeds,  and 


.   292  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 

deeply  plowed  and  harrowed.  Then  mark  out  the  ground  at 
intervals  of  six  feet  each  way,  and  plant  in  the  intersection  of 
the  furrows,  and  unless  the  ground  be  sufficiently  rich,  place 
three  or  four  shovels  of  compost  in  each  hill.  The  planting  is 
done  with  the  new  roots  taken  from  the  old  hills,  which  are  laid 
bare  by  the  plow.  Each  root  should  be  six  or  eight  inches  long 
and  must  contain  two  or  more*  eyes,  one  to  form  the  root  and  the 
other  the  vine.  Six  plants  are  put  in  a  hill,  all  of  which  should 
be  within  the  compass  of  about  a  foot,  and  covered  to  a  depth 
of  five  inches,  leaving  the  ground  level  when  planted.  The  first 
season,  the  intermediate  spaces  between  the  hills  may  be  planted 
with  corn  or  potatoes,  and  the  ground  should  be  carefully  cleared 
of  weeds  and  frequently  stirred.  No  poles  are  necessary  the  first 
year,  as  the  product  will  not  repay.  The  ground  should  receive 
a  heavy  dressing  of  compost  the  following  spring,  if  not  suffi- 
ciently rich,  and  the  plants  should  be  well  hoed  and  kept  clean. 

Poles  m.ay  be  prepared  at  the  rate  of  two  or  three  to  each 
hill,  twelve  to  sixteen  feet  long,  according  to  the  strength  of  the 
soil  in  which  the  hops  are  planted — the  stronger  the  soil,  the 
longer  the  poles — and  selected  from  a  straight,  smooth,  under- 
growth of  tough,  durable  wood,  from  four  to  five  inches  diameter 
at  the  butt  end.  Cedar,  or  tamarac,  (larch,)  are  the  best,  hghtest, 
and  most  durable.  These  are  sharpened  and  firmly  set  with  an 
iron  bar,  or  socket  bar  with  a  wooden  handle,  in  such  a  position 
as  will  allow  the  fullest  effect  of  the  sun  upon  the  hills  or  roots. 
When  the  plants  have  run  to  the  length  of  three  or  four  feet  in 
the  spring,  they  should  be  trained  around  the  poles,  winding  in 
the  direction  of  the  sun's  course,  and  fastened  below  the  second 
or  third  set  of  leaves,  where  there  is  sufficient  strength  of  vine  to 
sustain  themselves.  They  may  be  confined  with  rushes,  tough 
grass,  or  more  easily  with  woolen  yarn.  This  operation  is 
needed  again  in  a  few  days,  to  secure  such  as  may  have  got 
loose  by  the  winds  or  other  causes,  and  to  train  up  the  new  shoots. 

A  recent  method  has  been  adopted  of  making  trelhses  from 
pole  to  pole  of  strong  twine — one  pole  to  the  hill — three  or  four 


THE  HOP. 


293 


twisted  twines  stretching  from  one  pole  to  the  other  in  rows. 
This  is  a  more  laborious  process  than  to  use  double  poles  to  the 
hill,  but  the  gross  amount  of  expense  may  be  lessened  by  the 
process. 

The  gathering  of  hops  should  be  when  they  have  acquired 
a  strong  scent,  at  which  time  the  seed  becomes  firm  and  brown, 
and  the  lowest  leaves  begin  to  change  color.  This  precedes  the 
frosts  in  September.  The  vines  must  first  be  cut  at  the  surface 
of  the  ground,  ,  and  the  poles  pulled  up  and  laid  in  convenient 
piles,  when  they  may  be  stripped  of  the  hops,  which  are  thrown 
into  large,  light  baskets.  Or  the  poles  may  be  laid  on  long, 
slender  boxes,  with  handles  at  each  end,  (to  admit  of  being  car- 
ried by  two  persons,)  and  as  the  hops  are  stripped,  they  fall  into 
the  box.  But  care  must  be  taken  that  they  be  free  from  leaves, 
stems,  and  dirt. 

The  hops  should  be  hilled  or  covered  with  compost,  and  all 
the  vines  removed  in  the  fall.  The  following  spring,  when  the 
ground  is  dry,  the  surface  is  scraped  from  the  hill,  or  additional 
compost  is  added,  when  a  plow  is  run  on  four  sides  as  near  as 
possible  without  injury  to  the  plants.  All  the  running  roots  are 
laid  bare  and  cut  with  a  sharp  knife  within  two  or  three  inches 
of  the  main  root,  and  the  latter  are  trimmed,  if  spreading  too 
far.  It  is  well  to  break  or  twist  down  the  first  shoots,  and 
allow  those  which  succeed  to  run,  as  they  are  likely  to  be  more 
productive.  Cutting  should  be  avoided  unless  in  a  sunny  day, 
as  the  profuse  bleeding  injures  them.  The  poles  will  keep  longer 
under  cover. 

Curing  or  Drying. — This  is  an  important  operation,  and  it 
may  be  done  by  spreading  the  hops  thinly  in  the  shade  and  stir- 
ring them  often  enough  to  prevent  heating.  But  w^hen  there  is 
a  large  quantity,  they  can  only  be  safely  cured  in  a  kiln.  The 
following  mode  is  recommended  by  Mr.  Blanchard,  in  the  New 
England  States: 

*'Much  depends  on  having  a  well  constructed  kiln.  For  the 
convenience  of  putting  the  hops  on  the  kiln,  the  side  of  a  hill  is 


294 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


generally  chosen  for  its  situation.  Care  should  be  taken  that  it 
be  a  dry  situation.  The  kiln  should  be  dug  out  the  same  big- 
ness at  the  bottom  as  at  the  top ;  the  side  walls  laid  up  perpen- 
dicularly, and  filled  in  solid  with  stone,  to  give  it  a  tunnel  form. 
Twelve  feet  square  at  the  top,  two  feet  square  at  the  bottom,  and 
at  least  eight  feet  deep,  is  deemed  a  convenient  size.  On  the  top 
of  the  walls,  sills  are  laid,  having  joists  let  into  them  in  like  man- 
ner as  for  laying  a  floor,  on  which  laths,  about  one  and  a  half 
inches  wide  are  nailed,  leaving  open  spaces  between  them  three- 
fourths  of  an  inch,  over  which  a  thin  linen  cloth  is  spread  and 
nailed  at  the  edges  to  the  sills.  A  board  about  twelve  inches 
wide  is  set  up  on  each  side  of  the  kiln,  on  the  inner  edge  of  the 
sill,  to  form  a  bin  to  receive  the  hops.  The  larger  the  stones 
made  use  of  in  the  construction  of  the  kiln,  the  better;  as  it  will 
give  a  more  steady  and  dense  heat.  The  inside  of  the  kiln 
should  be  plastered  with  mortar  to  make  it  completely  air  tight. 
Charcoal  (that  made  from  yellow  birch  or  maple  I  should  prefer,) 
is  the  only  fuel  proper  to  be  used  in  drying  hops.  The  kiln 
should  be  well  heated  before  any  hops  are  put  on,  and  carefully 
attended,  to  keep  a  steady  and  regular  heat.  Fifty  pounds  of 
hops,  when  dried,  is  the  largest  quantity  that  should  be  dried  at 
one  time,  on  a  kiln  of  this  size ;  and  unless  absolutely  necessary 
to  put  on  that  quantity,  a  less  would  dry  better.  The  green  hops 
should  be  spread  as  evenly  and  as  light  as  possible  over  the  kiln. 
The  fire  at  first  should  be  moderate,  but  it  may  be  increased  as 
the  hops  dry  and  the  steam  is  evaporated.  The  hops,  after  lay- 
ing a  few  days,  will  gather  a  partial  moisture,  called  a  sweat. 
The  sweat  will  probably  begin  to  subside  in  about  eight  days,  at 
which  time,  and  before  the  sweat  is  ofi*,  they  ought  to  be  bagged 
in  clear,  dry  weather. 

"As  the  exact  time  when  the  hops  will  begin  to  sweat,  and 
when  the  sweat  will  begin  to  subside  or  dry  off,  (the  proper  time 
to  bag  them,)  will  vary  with  the  state  of  the  atmosphere,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  examine  the  hops  from  day  to  day,  which  is  easily 
done  by  taking  some  of  them  from  the  center  of  the  heap  with 


THE  HOP. 


295 


your  hand.  If  on  examination  you  find  the  hops  to  be  very 
damp,  and  their  color  altering,  which  will  be  the  case  if  they 
were  not  completely  dried  on  the  kiln,  and  not  otherwise,  you 
must  overhaul  them  and  dry  them  in  the  air.  Hops  should  not 
remainlong  in  the  bin  or  bag  after  they  are  picked,  as  they  will 
very  soon  heat  and  become  insipid.  The  hops  should  not  be 
stirred  on  the  kiln  until  they  are  completely  and  fully  dried. 
Then  they  should  be  removed  from  the  kiln  into  a  dry  room,  and 
laid  in  a  heap,  and  there  remain,  unmoved  and  unstirred,  until 
bagged,  which  is  done  with  a  screw,  having  a  box  made  of 
plank,  the  size  the  bag  is  wished,  into  which  the  cloth  is  laid, 
and  the  hops  screwed  into  the  box,  which  is  so  constructed  that 
the  sides  may  be  removed  and  the  bag  sewed  together  while  in 
the  press.  The  most  convenient  size  for  a  bag  of  hops,  to  handle 
and  transport,  is  about  five  feet  in  length,  and  to  contain  about 
two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  The  best  bagging  is  coarse, 
strong,  tow  cloth,  of  our  domestic  manufacturing;  next  to  that, 
Eussia  hemp  bagging. 

"It  is  now  common  for  those  who  have  entered  considerably 
into  the  cultivation  of  hops,  to  build  houses  over  their  kilns, 
which,  in  wet  weather,  are  very  convenient ;  otherwise,  a  kiln  in 
the  open  air  would  be  preferable.  It  is  necessary  to  have  these 
buildings  well  ventilated  with  doors  and  windows,  and  to  have 
them  kept  open  night  and  day,  except  in  wet  weather,  and  then 
shut  those  only  which  are  necessary  to  keep  out  the  rain.  If  a 
ventilator  was  put  in  the  roof  of  the  building,  directly  over  the 
center  of  the  kiln,  about  six  feet  square,  built  like  those  in  brew- 
eries and  distilleries,  they  would  be  found  very  advantageous.  I 
have  seen  many  lots  of  hops  much  injured  both  in  color  and 
flavor,  by  being  dried  in  close  buildings.  Where  the  houses 
over  the  kilns  are  built  large,  for  the  purpose  of  storing  the  hops 
as  they  are  dried,  which  is  a  great  saving  of  labor,  a  close  parti- 
tion should  be  made  between  the  kilns  and  the  room  in  which 
the  hops  are  stored,  to  prevent  the  damp  steam  from  the  kilns 
coming  to  them,  as  it  will  color  them,  and  injure  their  flavor  and 
quality  very  much." 


296 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


The  foregoing  account  states  fairly  the  principle  on  which  hops 
should  be  dried.  Since  that  was  written,  improved  kilns  have 
been  invented  and  brought  into  use. 

Diseases.- — Hops  are  liable  to  attack  from  various  insects, 
blight,  mildew,  etc.  There  is  no  effective  remedy  of  general 
appHcation  for  either.  The  best  preventives  are  new  or  fresh 
soil,  which  is  rich  in  ashes  and  the  inorganic  manures,  and  in  a 
fine  tillable  condition  to  insure  a  rapid  growth,  by  which  it  may 
partially  defy  attack,  and  open  planting  on  such  positions  as 
will  secure  free  circulation  of  air.  When  properly  managed 
they  are  one  of  the  most  productive  crops,  and  their  increasing 
use  will  always  make  them  a  large  object  of  cultivation. 

Hops  are  now  so  extensively  grown  in  some  parts  of  the 
country  that  treatises  have  been  written  and  published  on  their 
culture,  curing,  and  packing,  which  we  recommend  the  cultivators 
to  obtain. 

THE    CASTOR    BEAN,  (rICINUS    COMMUNIS,   COMMONLY  CALLED 

PALM  A  CHRISTI,) 

Is  a  native  of  the  West  India  Islands,  where  it  grows  with 
great  luxuriance.  It  is  cultivated  as  a  field  crop  in  our  lower 
Middle  States,  and  in  the  States  bordering  the  Ohio  river  on  the 
north.  It  likes  a  rich,  mellow  bed,  and  is  planted  and  hoed~like 
corn.  It  attains  the  height  of  five  or  six  feet,  and  bears  at  the 
rate  of  twenty  to  thirty  bushels  per  acre.  The  seed  is  separated 
from  the  pods,  bruised  and  subjected  to  a  great  pressure,  by 
which  they  yield  near  a  gallon  to  the  bushel  of  cold  pressed 
castor  oil,  which  is  better  than  that  extracted  by  boiling  and 
skimming.  The  last  is  done  either  with  or  without  first  slightly 
roasting.  This  oil  forms  not  only  a  mild  cathartic,  but  with  some, 
is  an  article  of  food.  Its  separation  into  a  limpid  oil  for  machin- 
ery and  lamps,  and  into  stearine  for  candles,  has  lately  much 
increased  its  valuable  uses ;  but  with  the  spontaneous  flows  of 
mineral  oils  now  so  plentifully  produced  with  us,  the  use  of  castor 
oil  will  be  chiefly  confined  to  medicinal  uses. 


CHAPTER  XII 


AIDS  AND  OBJECTS  OF  AGKICULTUEE. 

We  have  thus  far  treated  of  soils  and  manures,  the  preparation 
of  the  ground,  and  the  ordinary  cultivated  field  crops,  as  fully  as 
our  hmits  will  permit.  It  remains  for  us  briefly  to  add  such 
mcidental  aids  and  objects  of  agriculture,  as  could  not  appropri- 
ately be  embraced  under  either  of  the  foregoing  heads. 

KOTATION  OF  CROPS,  ITS  USES  AND  EFFECTS. 

The  practice  of  rotation  of  crops,  is  an  agricultural  improve- 
ment of  very  modern  date.    It  is  first  mentioned  in  Dickson's 
Treatise  on  Agriculture, "published  in  Edinburghin  1777  Eota 
tion  has,  for  more  than  a  century,  been  partially  practiced  in 
b  landers,  and  perhaps  in  some  other  highly  cultivated  countries 
and  It  was  afterwards  introduced  and  imperfectly  carried  out  on 
a  hmited  scale,  in  the  Norfolk  district  in  Great  Britain  but  its 
general  introduction  did  not  take  place  till  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century.    The  system  of  rotation  is  one  of  the  first  and 
most  important  principles  of  general  husbandly,  and  it  cannot  be 
omitted  without  manifest  disadvantage  and  loss.    The  place  of 
rotation  was  formerly  suppHed  by  naked  fallows.    This  practice 
consists,  as  we  have  before  shown,  in  giving  the  soil  an  occasional 
or  periodical  rest,  in  which  no  crop  is  taken  off,  and  the  soil  is 
allowed  to  produce  just  what  it.  pleases,  or  nothing  at  all  for  one 
or  more  years,  when  it  is  refreshed  and  invigorated  for  the  pro- 
duction of  Its  accustomed  useful  crops.    This  system,  it  will  be 
perceived  implies  the  loss  of  the  income  of  the  soil  for  a  certain 
portion  of  the  time,  and  it  can  be  tolerated  only  where  there  is 
more  land  than  can  be  cultivated.    Modern  agricultural  science 


298 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


has  detected,  in  part  at  least,  the  true  theory  of  the  necessity  for 
rotation.  It  has  been  discovered  that  every  crop  robs  the  soil  of 
a  portion  of  its  elements,  (fifteen  or  sixteen  elementary  substances 
combined  in  various  forms  and  proportions,)  and  that  no  two  dis- 
similar crops  abstract  these  elements  or  their  compounds  from  the 
soil  in  the  same  proportions.  Thus,  if  we  consider  the  amount 
of  the  salts  taken  out  of  the  soil  by  a  crop  of  turnips,  amounting 
to  five  tons  of  roots  per  acre ;  of  barley,  thirty-eight  bushels ;  one 
ton  each  of  dry  clover  or  rye  grass;  and  of  wheat,  tw^enty-five 
bushels,  we  shall  find  the  great  disproportions  of 'the  various 
elements,  which  the  difierent  vegetables  have  appropriated.  As 
given  by  Johnston,  they  will  be  in  pounds  as  follows: 


Potash, 

Soda, 

Lime,  . 

Magnesia, 

Al'jmina, 

Silica, 

Sulphuric  Acid, 
Phosphoric  Acid 
Chlorine, 


Turnip. 

Barley. 

Red. 

Rye. 

Wheat. 

Total. 

Roots. 

Grain. 

Straw. 

Clover. 

Grass. 

Grain. 

Straw. 

145.5 

5.6 

4.5 

45.0 

28.5 

3.3 

0.6 

233.0 

64.3 

5.8 

1.1 

12.0 

9.0 

3,5 

0.9 

96.6 

45.8 

2.1 

12.9 

63.0 

16.5 

1.5 

7.2 

149.0 

15.5 

3.6 

1.8 

7.5 

2.0 

1.5 

1.0 

32.9 

2.2 

0.5 

3.4 

0.3 

0.8 

0.4 

,2.7 

10.3 

23.6 

23.6 

90.0 

8.0 

62.0 

6.0 

86.0 

299.2 

49.0 

1.2 

2.8 

10.0 

8.0 

0.8 

1.0 

72.8 

22.4 

4.2 

3.7 

15.0 

0.6 

0.6 

5.0 

51.5 

14.5 

0.4 

1.5 

8.0 

0.1 

0.2 

0.9 

25.6 

970.9* 

Besides  the  elements  above  noted,  all  crops  contain  oxide  of 
iron,  and  nearly  all  oxide  of  manganese  and  iodine;  and  of  the 
organic  elements  associated  in  various  combinations,  they  appro- 
priate about  ninety-seven  per  cent,  of  their  entire  dried  weight. 
Now  it  is  not  only  necessary  that  all  the  above  materials  exist  in 
the  soil,  hut  that  they  are  also  to  he  found  in  a  form  precisely 
adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  growing  plant.  That  they  exist  in 
every  soil,  in  some  conditions,  to  an  amount  large  enough  to 
afford  the  quantity  required  by  the  crop,  can  hardly  be  doubted, 
but  that  they  are  all  in  a  form  to  supply  the  full  demand  of  a 
luxuriant  crop,  is  probably  true  of  such  only  as  are  found,  under 
favorable  circumstances  of  season  and  climate,  to  have  produced 
the  largest  burthens.    If  a  succession  of  any  given  crops  are 


*  This  is  exclusive  of  the  turnip  tops. 


ROTATION  OF  CR.OPS. 


299 


gathered  and  carried  off  the  land,  without  the  occasional  addition 
of  manures,  they  will  be  found  gradually  to  diminish  in  quantity, 
till  they  reach  a  point  when  they  will  scarcely  pay  the  expense,s 
of  cultivation.  We  mean  to  be  understood  as  affirming  this  of  all 
crops  and  all  soils,  however  naturally  fertile  the  latter  may  be, 
unless  they  are  such  as  receive  an  annual  or  occasional  dressing 
from  the  overflow  of  enriching  floods,  or  are  artificially  irrigated 
with  water,  which  holds  the  necessary  fertihzing  matters  in  solu- 
tion; and  such  are  not  exceptions,  but  receive  their  manure  in 
another  form,  unaided  by  the  hand  of  the  husbandman. 

Neither  are  old  meadows  (mowing  lands  filled  with  the  natural 
or  uncultivated  grasses,  or  whatever  of  useful  forage  they  choose 
to  bear,)  exceptions  to  this  rule,  for  though  they  may  part  with  a 
portion  of  their  annual  crop  in  the  hay,  which  is  removed,  and 
which  is  not  returned  as  manure,  and  by  a  partial  rest  or  pastur- 
age appear  to  sustain  their  original  fertility,  yet  if  the  true 
character  of  the  various  plants  which  they  produce  were  accu- 
rately observed,  (all  of  which  are  indiscriminately  embraced  under 
the  general  head  of  grass  or  hay,)  it  would  be  found  that  the 
plants  gradually  change  from  year  to  year;  and  while  some  pre- 
dominate  in  one  season,  others  take  their  place  the  year  succeed- 
ing, and  these  again  are  supplanted  by  others  in  an  unceasing 
round  of  natural  rotation. 

Another  illustration  of  rotation  may  be  observed  in  the  suc- 
cession of  forest  trees  that  shoot  up  on  the  same  soil,  to  supply 
the  places  of  such  of  their  predecessors  as  have  decayed  or  been 
cut  down.  Thus  the  pine  and  other  of  the  conifers,  are  fre- 
quently found  to  usurp  the  place  of  the  oak,  chestnut,  and  other 
deciduous  trees.  This  occurs  sometimes  partially,  but  in  repeated 
instances  which  have  come  within  our  notice,  forests  have  been 
observed  to  pass  entirely  from  one  order  of  the  vegetable  crea- 
tion to  its  remote  opposite,  the  seeds  or  germs  of  which,  (the 
product  of  an  ancient  rotation,)  had  been  lying  dormant  for  cen- 
turies, perhaps,  waiting  a  favorable  condition  of  circumstances 
and  soil  to  spring  into  life. 


300  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 

Many  choice  secondary  bottom  lands,  and  others  munificently 
supplied  by  nature  with  all  the  materials  of  fertility,  have  by  a 
long  succession  of  crops  been  reduced  to  a  condition  of  compar- 
ative sterility.  Yet  it  will  have  been  found  in  the  progress  of 
this  exhaustion,  that  after  the  soil  ceased  to  give  an  adequate 
return  of  one  crop,  as  of  wheat,  corn,  or  tobacco,  it  would  still 
yield  largely  of  some  other  genus  which  was  adapted  to  it. 
These  lands,  when  thus  reduced  and  turned  out  to  commons  for 
a  few  years,  will  again  give  crops  much  larger  than  those  which 
closed  their  former  bearing  career,  proving  that  nature  has  been 
silently  at  v7ork  in  renovating  the  land  for  further  use.  The 
whole  course  of  her  operations  is  not  yet  known,  but  this  much 
is  satisfactorily  ascertained,  that  she  is  incessantly  engaged  in 
producing  those  changes  in  the  soil,  which  enable  it  to  contribute 
to  vegetable  sustenance.  Enough  of  lime,  or  potash,  or  silica, 
may  have  been  disengaged  to  yield  all  that  may  be  required  for 
one  crop,  which  by  that  crop  is  principally  taken .  up,  and  if 
another  of  the  same  kind  follows  in  quick  succession,  there  will 
be  a  deficiency ;  yet  if  a  different  crop  succeed,  there  may  be 
found  enough  of  all  the  materials  it  needs,  fully  to  mature  it.  A 
third  now  takes  its  place,  demanding  materials  for  nutrition  in 
forms  and  proportions  unUke  either  which  has  preceded  it,  and 
by  the  time  a  recurrence  to  the  first  is  necessary,  the  soil  may  be 
in  a  condition  again  to  yield  a  remunerating  return.  These 
remarks  apply  equally  to  such  soils  as  have,  and  such  as  have  not 
received  manures;  unless,  as  is  seldom  the  case,  an  accurate 
science  should  add  them  in  quantity  and  character,  fully  to  supply 
the  exhaustion.  The  addition  or  withholding  of  manures,  only 
accelerates  or  retards  this  effect. 

Another  prominent  advantage  of  rotation,  is  in  its  enabling 
such  crops  to  have  the  benefit  of  manure,  as  cannot  receive  it 
without  hazard  or  injury  if  applied  directly  upon  them.  Thus 
wheat  and  the  other  white  grains,  are  liable  to  overgrowth  of 
straw,  rust  and  mildew,  if  manured  with  recent  dung ;  yet  this 
is  applied  without  risk  to  corn,  roots,  and  most  of  the  hoed  crops ; 


ROTATION  OF  CROPS. 


301 


and  when  tempered  by  one  season^s  exhaustion,  and  the  various 
changes  and  combinations  which  are  effected  in  the  soil,  it  safely 
ministers  in  profusion  to  all  the  wants  of  the  smaller  cereal 
grains. 

A  third  benefit  of  rotation  is,  by  bringing  the  land  into  hoed 
crops  at  proper  intervals,  it  clears  it  of  any  troublesome  weeds 
which  may  infest  it.  And  still  a  further  advantage  may  be 
found,  in  cutting  off  the  appropriate  food  of  insects  and  worms, 
which  in  the  course  of  time,  by  having  a  full  supply  of  their 
necessary  aliment,  and  especially  if  undisturbed  in  their  quiet 
haunts,  will  oftentimes  become  so  numerous  as  seriously  to  inter- 
fere with  the  labors  of  the  farmer.  A  change  of  crops,  and 
exposure  of  the  insects  to  frosts,  and  by  the  change  of  cultivation 
which  a  rotation  insures,  will  make  serious  inroads  upon  their 
numbers,  if  it  does  not  effectually  destroy  them. 

The  fanciful  theory  of  the  noxious  excretions  of  plants^  first 
broached,  and  ingeniously  defended  by  the  powerful  name  of 
Decandolle,  and  which  the  closest  scrutiny  of  scientific  observers 
since  has  pronounced  unworthy  of  credit,  does  not  form  a  fifth 
reason  for  rotation.  It  is  because  principals,  essential  to  success- 
fill  vegetation,  have  been  abstracted,  not  that  others  hurtful  to  it 
have  been  added  by  preceding  crops,  that  rotation  is  rendered 
necessary.  From  all  that  has  hitherto  been  learned  on  the  sub- 
ject of  rotation,  either  from  science  or  practice,  two  general 
principles  may  be  assumed  as  proper  to  guide  every  farmer  in 
his  course  of  cropping.  First,  to  cultivate  as  great  a  variety  of 
plants  as  his  soil,  circumstances  and  market  will  justify;  and 
second,  to  have  the  same,  or  any  similar  species,  follow  each  other 
at  intervals  as  remote  as  may  be  consistent  with  his  interests. 
From  the  foregoing  observations  on  the  subject,  it  is  evident 
that  the  proper  system  of  rotation  for  any  farmer  to  adopt,  must 
depend  on  all  the  conditions  by  which  he  is  surrounded,  and  that 
it  should  vary  according  to  these  varying  circumstances. 

It  is  a  practice  with  some  to  alternate  wheat  and  clover,  giving 
only  one  year  to  the  former  and  one  or  two  years  to  the  latter. 


302 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


This  will  answer  for  a  long  time,  on  soils  adapted  to  each  crop, 
provided  there  be  added  to  the  clover,  such  manures  as  contribute 
to  its  own  growth,  and  such  also  as  are  exhausted  by  wheat. 
The  saline  manures,  ashes,  lime,  etc.,  may  be  added  directly  to 
wheat  without  injury;  but  gypsum  should  be  sown  upon  the 
clover,  as  its  benefits  are  scarcely  perceptible  on  wheat,  while 
upon  the  clover,  they  are  of  the  greatest  utility.  But  there  are 
objections  even  to  this,  as  it  does  not  allow  an  economical  or 
advantageous  use  of  barn-yard  manures,  which,  from  their  com- 
bining all  the  elements  of  fertihty,  are  the  most  certain  in  their 
general  effect.  In  different  countries  of  Europe,  fields  which 
have  been  used  for  an  oft-recurring  clover  crop,  have  become 
clover  sic\  as  it  is  famiharly  termed.  The  plant  will  not  grow 
luxuriantly;  sometimes  refusing  to  vegetate,  or  if  it  starts  upon 
its  vegetable  existence,  it  does  so  apparently  with  the  greatest 
reluctance  and  suffering,  and  ekes  out  a  puny,  thriftless  career, 
unattended  with  a  single  advantage  to  its  owner.  This  is  simply 
the  result  of  the  exhaustion  of  one  or  more  of  the  indispensable 
elements  of  the  plant.  If  it  be  desirable  to  pursue  this  two 
course  system  for  any  length  of  time,  nothing  short  of  the  apph- 
cation  of  all  such  inorganic  matters  as  are  taken  up  by  the  crops, 
will  sustain  the  land  in  a  fertile  condition.  "We  subjoin,  simply 
for  the  purpose  of  illustration,  and  the  guidance  of  such  as  may 
have  little  experience  in  rotation,  some  systems  which  have  been 
pursued  with  advantage  in  this  country: 

1st.  On  a  grass  sod,  broken  up,  with  a  heavy  dressing  of  barn- 
yard manure,  and  muck,  ashes,  and  lime,  if  necessary.  First  year, 
corn,  with  gypsum  scattered  over  the  plants  after  the  first  hoeing, 
which  should  be  immediately  after  its  making  its  first  appearance ; 
second  year,  roots  with  manure;  third  year,  wheat,  if  adapted  to 
the  soil;  if  not,  then  barley,  rye,  or  oats,  with  grass  or  clover 
seed,  or  both ;  fourth  year,  meadow,  which  may  be  continued  at 
pleasure,  or  till  the  grass  or  clover  gives  way.  The  meadow 
may  be  followed  by  pasturing  if  desired.  Clover  alone  should 
not  remain  over  two  years  as  meadow,  but  for  pasture  it  may 
be  continued  longer. 


WEEDS.  303 

« 

2d.  First  year,  corn  or  roots  on  grass  or  clover  lay,  with 
manure;  second,  oats  and  clover,  with  a  top  dressing  of  ten  to 
twenty  bushels  of  crushed  bones  per  acre ;  third,  clover  pastured 
to  the  last  of  J une,  then  grown  until  fully  matured  in  August, 
when  it  is  turned  over,  and  a  hght  dressing  of  compost  and  forty 
to  eighty  bushels  of  leached  ashes  spread  over  it,  and  wheat  and 
timothy  seed  sown  about  the  fifteenth  of  September.  If  desired, 
the  following  spring,  clover  is  sown  and  lightly  harrowed.  This 
gives  for  the  fourth  year,  wheat;  fifth  and  sixth,  and  if  the  grass 
continues  good,  the  seventh  year  also,  meadow. 

3d.  First,  corn  on  a  grass  sod,  heavily  manured,  and  a  half 
gill  of  ashes  and  gypsum,  mixed  at  the  rate  of  two  of  the  former 
to  one  of  the  latter,  put  in  the  hill,  and  an  equal  quantity  of  pure 
gypsum  added,  after  the  corn  is  first  hoed ;  second,  oats  or  bar- 
ley, with  hme  at  the  rate  of  twenty  to  thirty  bushels  per  acre, 
sown  broadcast  after  the  oats,  and  harrowed  in ;  third,  peas  or 
beans,  removed  early,  and  afterwards  sown  with  wheat;  fourth, 
wheat  with  a  Hght  top  dressing  of  compost,  and  saline  manures 
in  the  spring,  and  clover,  or  grass  and  clover  seed;  fifth,  two  or 
three  years  in  meadow  and  pasture. 

4th.  First,  wheat  on  a  grass  sod;  second,  clover;  third,  Indian 
com,  heavily  manured ;  fourth,  barley  or  oats,  with  grass  or  clover 
seed;  fifth,  and  following,  grass  or  clover. 

5th.  A  good  rotation  for  hght,  sandy  lands,  is  first,  corn  well 
manured  and  cut  off  early  and  removed  from  the  ground,  which 
is  immediately  sown  with  rye,  or  the  rye  hoed  in  between  the 
hill;  second,  rye  with  clover  sown  in  the  spring,  and  gypsum 
added  when  fairly  up;  third,  clover  cut  for  hay,  or  pastured,  the 
latter  being  much  more  advantageous  for  the  land. 

WEEDS.  ^ 

Whatever  plants  infest  the  farmer's  grounds,  and  are  worthless 
as  objects  of  cultivation,  are  embraced  under  the  general  name  of 
weeds.  In  a  more  comprehensive  sense,  all  plants,  however  useful 
tliey  may  be  as  distinct  or  separate  objects  of  attention,  when. 


304  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 

scattered  through  a  crop  of  other  useful  plants,  to  their  manifest 
detriment,  may  be  considered  and  treated  as  such.  Perfect  culti- 
vation consists  in  having  nothing  upon  the  ground  but  what  is 
intended  for  the  benefit  of  the  farmer,  and  it  imphes  a  total 
destruction  of  every  species  of  vegetation  which  does  not 
contribute  directly  to  his  advantage. 

In  China,  and  some  parts  of  Flanders,  the  fields  are  entirely 
free  from  weeds.  This  is  the  result  of  long  continued  cleanly 
cultivation  by  which  every  weed  has  been  extirpated,  a  scrupulous 
attention  to  the  purity  of  the  seeds,  and  the  sole  use  of  urine, 
poudrette,  and  saline  manures.  This  object  is  scarcely  attainable 
in  this  country,  except  on  fields  pecuHarly  situated.  The  prin- 
cipal causes  of  the  propagation  of  weeds  among  us,  is  the  negli- 
gent system  of  tillage,  and  the  use  of  unfermented  vegetable 
manures.  By  heating  or  decomposition,  all  the  seeds  incorporated 
in  the  manure  heap  are  destroyed.  But  there  is  a  great  loss  in 
applying  manure  thus  changed,  and  having  parted,  with  large 
portions  of  its  active,  nutritive  gases,  unless  protected  by  a 
thick  covering  of  turf  or  vegetable  mold.  For  many  soils  and 
crops,  undecomposed  manures  are  far  the  most  valuable.  But 
they  should  always  be  applied  to  the  hoed  crops,  and  such  as  will 
receive  the  attention  of  the  farmer  for  the  utter  extinction  of 
weeds.  A  single  weed  which  is  allowed  to  mature,  may  become 
500  the  following  year,  and  10,000  the  year  after.  The  cleansing 
of  land  from  weeds,  is  almost  the  sole  justification  for  naked 
fallows.  When  a  large  crop  of  them  have  by  any  means  obtained 
possession  of  the  ground,  they  ought  to  be  turned  into  the  soil 
with  the  plow  before  ripening  their  seed,  and  they  thus  become  a 
means  of  enriching  rather  than  of  impoverishing  the  ground. 
Meadows  which  have  become  foul  with  useless  plants,  may  be 
turned  into  pasture;  and  if  there  are  plants  which  cattle  and 
horses  will  not  eat,  let  them  first  crop  it  closely,  and  then  follow 
with  sheep,  which  are  much  more  indiscriminate  in  their  choice 
of  food,  and  consume  many  plants  which  are  rejected  by  other 
animals.    Whatever  escapes  the  maw  of  sheep,  should  be  extir- 


WEEDS.  305 


pated  by  the  hand  or  hoe  before  seeding.  The  utmost  care,  also, 
should  be  used  in  the  selection  of  seed,  and  none  sown  but  such 
as  has  been  entirely  freed  from  any  foreign  seeds. 

The  Canada  thistle  is  the  only  weed  which  has  taxed  the 
ingenuity  of  vigilant  fanners  in  effecting  its  removal.    This  is, 
however,  within  the  power  of  every  one  who  will  bestow  upon 
it  a  watchful  attention  for  a  single  season.    The  plant  should  be 
allowed  to  attain  nearly  its  full  growth,  or  till  it  comes  into  flower, 
when  it  has  drawn  largely  upon  the  vitality  of  its  roots.    If  the 
patch  be  large,  the  plow  should  be  used  to  turn  every  particle  of 
the  plant  under  the  surface,  and  let  the  hoe  or  spade  complete 
^  what  has  escaped  the  plow.    If  the  patch  be  small,  the  hoe  or 
spade  should  be  used  to  cut  off  the  crown  of  the  foot,  and  if  in 
blossom,  let  the  tops  be  burnt  to  prevent  the  possibiHty  of  any  of 
the  seeds  ripening.    As  soon  as  the  tops  again  make  their  appear- 
ance above  ground,  repeat  the  plowing  or  spading,  and  continue 
this  till  the  middle  of  autumn,  when  the  land  will  be  free  from 
them,  and  in  fine  condition  to  yield  a  crop  of  wheat.    If  they 
harbor  in  fences  or  walls,  these  should  be  removed,  or  the  thistle 
followed  to  its  roots,  and  kept  constantly  cut  into  the  ground,  when 
it  will  not  long  survive.    We  have  found  mowing  off  with  a 
scythe,  when  in  early  flower,  quite  an  effective  mode  of  extirpat- 
ing this  troublesome  pest.    The  difficulty  or  ease  of  extirpating 
this  weed  depends  much  on  the  composition  of  the  soil  in  which 
they  spring  up.    When  the  land  is  cultivated  from  year  to  year 
in  hoed  or  sown  crops,  they  are  most  difficult.    In  pastures  and 
meadows  they  are  less  hurtful.    On  some  grounds,  newly  cleared, 
they  may  come  in  myriads,  from  their  light,  feathery  seeds,' 
wafted  by  winds.    In  such  cases,  the  best  way  is  to  sow  grass 
seeds  thickly,  mow  the  crop,  which  is  generally  done  when  both 
grass  and  thistles  are  in  bloom,  and  the  latter  will  rapidly  disap- 
pear with  each  successive  mowing.     Such  has  been  our  own 
experience. 


306 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


RESTORING  WORN  OUT  SOILS  TO  FERTILITY,  AND  FERTILIZINC+ 

BARREN  LANDS. 

Reams  of  paper  have  been  written  and  printed  in  our  agricul- 
tural journals  on  this  not  yet  exhausted  subject,  and  much  still 
remains  to  be  known.  We  have  vast  tracts  of  vacant  land  in 
these  United  States  which  have  long  lain  exhausted  by  the  plow, 
from  the  effects  of  continuous  cropping  without  the  return  of 
adequate  manures  to  keep  up  their  fertility.  They  are  favored 
by  chmate,  contiguity  to  seaboard  markets,  and  other  advantages 
which  would  render  them,  in  a  state  of  moderate  fertility  only, 
among  the  most  desirable  of  all  our  agricultural  lands.  Deposits 
of  marl,  hme,  and  other  fertilizing  material  He  embedded  in  close 
proximity  to  them,  needing  only  the  aid  of  enhghtened  enter- 
prise and  industry  to  restore  them  to  their  original  power  of 
production. 

In  other  sections,  extensive  areas,  once  supposed  to  be  incura- 
bly barren,  await  a  like  action  to  render  them  available  for  good 
farming.  "While  richer  soils  in  like  situations,  are  worth,  for  farm 
purposes,  fifty  to  two  hundred  dollars  per  acre,  these  barrens  are 
comparatively  worthless.  On  the  good  lands,  the  occupants  and 
cultivators  grow  rich,  while  the  poor  are  hardly  worth  the  taxes 
paid  upon  them.  Still,  they  are  in  no  worse  natural  condition 
than  large  tracts  of  soil  in  Britain,  and  on  the  neighboring  conti- 
nent, two  or  three  centuries  ago ;  and  but  for  the  almost  illimit- 
able fertile  soils  extending  over  our  Western  States  and  Territories, 
more  inviting  to  the  emigrant,  they  would,  ere  this,  have  been 
brought  into  moderate,  if  not  good  fertihty,  and  cultivated  by  a 
thriving  population.  Large  commercial  and  manufacturing  cities 
lie  near  them,  consuming  triple  the  amount  of  crops  which  under 
the  best  condition  they  might  bear,  and  still  they  are  measur- 
ably neglected.  This  can  only  be  accounted  for  in  the  dislike  of 
poor  land  so  common  to  the  native  American,  and  the  want  of 
means  in  the  foreign  immigrant  to  our  shores,  who,  having  the 
knowledge  of  their  properties,  but  wanting  the  means  to  pur- 


HESTOEING  WORN  OUT  SOILS.  307 

chase  and  improve,  passes  them  hj  for  the  new  and  virgin  soils 
far  away  in  the  interior. 

Yet,  the  worn  out  lands,  long  ago  abandoned  under  a  system 
of  labor  now  forever  passed,  as  well  as  the  soils  never  yet 
reclaimed  from  their  original  barrenness,  give  indications  of  resto- 
ration  and  improvement  which  promise  both  reproduction  in  the 
one,  and  bringing  into  culture  of  the  other.    The  plan  of  the 
American  farmer  has  seemed  to  be  to  select  a  naturally  good 
soil,  plant  himself  upon  it,  and  either  by  a  careless  mode  of  crop- 
pmg,  wear  it  out,  and  then  abandon  it  for  a  better,  and  newer 
one,  or  by  a  course  of  good  husbandry  maintain  it  in  its  produc- 
tive condition  and  transmit  it  to  his  heirs,  if  his  restive  disposi 
tion  did  not  induce  him  to  "  better  himself "  by  a  sale,  and  remove 
to  what  he  considered  a  more  eligible  home. 

We  can  do  no  better  service  to  our  farmers,  gardeners,  and 
fruit  growers,  than  to  draw  their  attention  to  these  either  Vorn 
or  naturally  barren  lands,  provided  they  have  the  means,  and  will 
intelligently  select  them  and  undertake  their  improvement  We 
say  nothing  of  localities,  having  no  private  interest  in  any  but 
m  a  general  way,  only,  refer  to  them.     Some  are  better  than 
others;  some,  possibly,  incurably  barren;  but  selections  can  b. 
made  to  decided  advantage  by  those  who  choose  to  enter  on  their 
cultivation.     Fertilizers  of  almost  every  description  abound  in 
our  country,  either  of  native  production,  or  which,  at  moderate 
prices,  can  be  obtained  from  abroad.     These,  with  the  aid  of 
green  crops  plowed  in,  as  the  clovers,  buckwheat,  green  corn— 
the  latter  used  to  great  advantage  in  many  localities  within  our 
knowledge-even  the  common  annual  weeds,  when  not  of  too 
pestiferous  character,  will  aid  largely  in  bringing  these  lands  into 
a  state  of  fertility.    In  our  discussion  of  animal  and  vegetable 
manures,  the  phosphates,  and  the  various  organic  and  inorganic 
materials  applicable  to  such  uses,  no  intelligent  man  need  be  at  a 
loss  for  the  means  to  make  these  lands  available  as  permanent 
sources  of  profit. 


308 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTITRE. 


We  have,  too,  wide  tracts  of  marsliy  land  on  our  seaboard, 
as  well  as  in  interior  localities,  now  comparatively  worthless, 
which  may  be  ditched,  dyked,  and  drained  to  untold  benefit.  With 
us,  little  has  yet  been  done  to  reclaim  our  seaboard  marshes.  During 
the  past  year,  the  tide-water  lowlands  lying  between  Jersey  City 
and  Newark,  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  have  been  entered 
upon  by  an  enterprising  company  for  the  purpose  of  dyking  and 
drainage.    These  lands  have  hitherto  yielded  only  moderate  crops 
of  salt  grass,  of  little  value.    We  trust  this  may  prove  a  suc- 
cessful experiment.v  If  so — and  we  see  no  good  reason  why  it 
should  not — it  will  be  followed  by  other  enterprises  of  the  kind, 
extending  along  our  wide-spread  Atlantic  shores,  and  reclaim  an 
untold  wealth  of  soil  to  our  agricultural  production  in  its  most 
valuable  localities.    Extensive  areas  of  swamp  land,  also,  are 
scattered  throughout  our  several  states,  awaiting  only  an  intelH- 
gent  expenditure  of  capital  in  the  same  direction,  to  render  them 
among  the  most  fertile,  enduring,  and  desirable  soils  to  the  hus- 
bandman.   Millions  of  acres,  with  much  greater  natural  obstacles 
to  encounter,  have  been  reclaimed,  and  enclosed  from  the  sea,  and 
the  broad  estuaries  of  rivers  in  various  parts  of  Europe,  now 
embracing  some  of  the  most  productive  regions  of  the  globe. 
And  why  should  it  not  be  so  in  America? 

The  subject  is  almost  exhaustless,  and  we  can  only  suggest 
these  improvements — ^new  creations  of  wealth,  in  reality — in  gen- 
eral terms.  Innumerable  instances  can  be  named  where  lands, 
even  near  many  of  our  large  cities,  have  already  been  rid  of  their 
myriads  of  forbidding  boulders,  and  brought  into  the  finest  tilth 
and  production;  swamps,  hterally  worthless,  overgrown  with 
bushes,  coarse  grass,  good  for  nothing,  and  inhabited  only  by 
destructive  vermin,  or  spreading  miasma,  and  other  pestilential 
exhalations  over  their  neighborhoods,  now  yielding  crops  of  the 
richest  grasses ;  other  once  dismally  barren  tracts  now  yielding 
mountains  of  the  finest  vegetables,  and  the  choicest  fruits,  for  the 
support  and  luxury  of  the  human  family ;  all  these  we  have  seen 
accomphshed  within  the  time  of  a  single  generation;  and  why 


RESTORING  WORN  OUT  SOILS.  309 

should  not  such  progress  be  indefinitely  repeated?    The  subject 

commends  itself  to  our  industry,  our  public  spirit,  our  patriotism, 

love  of  country,  and  humanity. 

Look  at  England,  Scotland,  Ireland  to  a  considerable  extent, 

Belgium,  Holland;  neither  of  them,  in  their  natural  condition! 
equal  to  any  given  area  in  almost  any  portion  of  our  Atlantic 
States.    The  main  difference  between  those  countries  and  ours, 
is,  they  had  a  redundant  population  within  narrow  hmits,  which 
oUiged  them  to  reclaim  their  waste  lands,  and  we,  Americans, 
have  had  all  the  fertile  western  world  before  us  'on  which  to 
spread,  conquer,  and  ravage,  with  exhausting  crops  and  heedless 
cultivation.    It  should  not  be  so,  or  rather,  it  should  not  so 
remain.    Without  those  wonder  working  feats  of  engineering 
skill  and  industry  which  have  achieved  our  great  canals  and  rail- 
ways, our  western  crops  would  hardly  be  worth  the  harvesting, 
so  distant  are  they  from  the  seaboard  markets.    But  speed  and 
cheapness  of  transportation  have  overcome  distance,  and  happily 
our  far  off  cultivators  and  producers,  by  their  timely  aids,  are 
brought  into  intimate  connection  with  the  consumers  and  export- 
ers of  their  industry. 

^  Those  different  soils,  and  their  cultivation  also,  suggest  divi- 
sions  of  agricultural  labor  into  the  products  most  favorable  to 
them.    The  dairy,  the  grains— each  in  their  own  varieties— the 
grazing,  the  wool  growing,  the  fruit  bearing,  the  miscellaneous 
products,  are  ea^jh  working  into  their  own  most  available  lands,  ' 
instead  of  the  old  time  ways  of  the  farmer  trying  every  thing' 
and  producing  scanty  crops  of  many  articles,  with  but  a  poor 
return  for  his  labor.    This  mode  of  cultivation  also  produces  a 
profitable  interchange  of  commodities,  one  section  with  another, 
and  each  more  favorable  to  his  own  chosen  course  of  husbandry! 
The  upshot  of  the  whole  matter  is,  the  farmer  should  ascertain, 
as  near  to  a  certainty  as  possible  what  his  land  is  best  fitted  for 
m  a  profitable  crop  or  production,  turn  his  chief  attention  to 
that  and  steadily  pursue  it  with  aU  the  intelligence  and  vigor 
he  may  command.    By  such  a  course,  and  such  a  course  only, 
can  he  expect  to  thrive.    And  this  leads  us  to  the  subject  of 


310 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


EXPERIMENTS  AMONG  FARMERS. 

The  idea  of  "experiments"  among  farmers,  has  a  very  vague 
meaning,  and  has  more  often  been  a  subject  of  ridicule  with 
many  of  our  practical  men.  It  should  not  be  so.  "We*  see  no 
reason  why  farmers  should  not  experiment  in  a  reasonable  way, 
as  well  as  meclianics,  chemists,  or  those  of  other  useful  professions. 

A  great  advantage  would  result  to  agriculture  if  every  intelli- 
gent farmer  would  pursue  some  systematic  course  of  experiments, 
on  such  a  scale  and  variety  as  bis  circumstances  would  justify, 
and  give  the  results,  if  successful,  to  the  community.  It  is  with 
experiments  in  farming,  as  was  said  by  Franklin,  of  a  young 
man  owning  wild  lands:  ''it  is  well  enough  for  everyone  to 
have  some,  if  he  donH  have  too  manyT  They  should  be  his 
servants,  not  his  masters;  and  if  intelligently  managed  and  kept 
within  due  bounds,  they  may  be  made  greatly  subservient  to  his 
own  interest,  and,  by  their  promulgation,  eminently  promotive  of 
the  general  good.  It  is  fully  in  accordance  with  another  maxim 
of  that  wise  head,  that  when  it  is  not  within  our  power  to  return 
a  favor  to  our  benefactor,  it  is  our  duty  to  confer  one  on  the  first 
necessitous  person  we  meet,  and  thus  the  circle  of  good  offices 
will  pass  round. 

The  mutual  communication  of  improvements  of  any  kind  in 
agriculture,  has  the  effect  of  benefiting  not  only  the  community 
generally,  but  even  the  authors  themselves;  as  they  frequently 
elicit  corrections  and  modifications  which  materially  enhance  the 
value  of  the  discovery.  These  experiments  should  embrace  the 
whole  subject  of  American  agriculture;  soils  and  their  amelior- 
ation ;  manures  of  every  kind,  alkaline,  vegetable  and  putrescent, 
and  their  effects  on  different  soils  and  crops;  plants  of  every 
variety,  and  their  adaptation  to  different  soils,  under  different 
circumstances  and  with  various  manures ;  and  their  relation  to 
each  other,  both  as  successors  in  rotation,  their  value  for  conver- 
sion into  animals  and  other  forms,  and  their  comparative  ultimate 
profit ;  the  production  of  new  varieties  by  hybridizing  and  other- 


UTILITY  OF  BIRDS. 


311 


wise;  draining,  both  surface  and  covered;  the  improvements  of 
implements  and  mechanical  operations,  etc.,  etc.  They  should 
also  extend  to  the  impartial  and  thorough  trial  of  the  different 
breeds  of  all  domestic  animals,  making  ultimate  profit  to  the 
owner  the  sole  test  of  their  merits,  crossing  them  in  different 
ways  and  under  such  general  rules  as  experience  has  determined 
as  proper  to  be  observed;  their  treatment,  food,  management, 
etc.  Although  much  has  been  accomplished  within  the  last  few 
years,  the  science  and  practice  of  agriculture  may  yet  be  consid- 
ered almost  in  its  infancy.  There  is  an  unbounded  field  still  open 
for  exploration  and  research,  in  which  the  efforts  of  persevering 
genius  may  hereafter  discover  mines  of  immense  value  to  the 
human  family. 

THE  UTILITY  OF  BIRDS. 

These  are  among  the  most  useful  of  the  farmer's  aids,  in 
securing  his  crops  from  insect  •  depredation ;  and  yet  manifest  as 
this  is  to  every  observing  man,  they  are  frequently  pursued  and 
hunted  from  the  premises  as  if  they  were  his  worst  enemies. 
The  martin,  the  swallow  and  the  wren,  which  may  almost  be 
considered  among  the  domestics  of  the  farm;  and  the  sparrow, 
the  robin,  the  bluebird,  the  woodpecker,  the  bob-o-hnk,  the 
yellowbird,  the  thrush,  the  oriole,  and  nearly  all  the  gay  song- 
sters of  the  field,  accompHsh  more  for  the  destruction  of  noxious 
flies,  worms  and  insects,  (the  real  enemies  of  the  farmer,)  than 
all  the  nostrums  ever  invented.    And  hence  the  folly  of  that 
absurd  custom  of  scarecrows  in  cornfields  and  orchards,  to  which 
we  have  before  alluded;  and  the  chickens  and  ducks  do  the 
farmer  more  benefit  than  injury  in  the  garden  and  pleasure 
grounds,  if  kept  out  of  the  way  while  the  young  plants  are 
coming  up.    A  troop  of  young  turkeys  in  the  field  will  destroy 
their  weight  in  grasshoppers  every  three  days,  during  their  prev- 
alence in  summer.    A  pair  of  sparrows,  while  feeding  their 
young,  will  consume  3,360  caterpillars  in  a  week.    One  hundred 
crows  will  devour  a  ton  and  a  half  of  grubs  and  insects  in  a 
season.     Even  the  hawk  and  the  owl,  the  objects  of  general 


312 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


aversion,  rid  the  fields  and  woods  of  innumerable  squirrels,  moles 
and  field  mice,  which  are  frequently  great  depredators  upon  the 
crops,  (after  having  exhausted  the  stores  of  worms  and  insects, 
which  they  first  invariably  devour,)  and  the  smaller  species  when 
pressed  by  hunger,  will  even  resort  to  grubs,  beetles  and  grass- 
hoppers, in  the  absence  of  larger  game.     (We  mention  the 
operations  of  the  crows,  hawks  and  owls  simply  as  a  fact.  We 
have  no  love  for  either  of  them,  being  satisfied  that  they  are 
more  destructive  to  crops,  and  valuable  domestic  fowls,  than  in 
their  consumption  of  insects  and  other  vermin.)    That  loathsome 
monster,  the  bat,  in  its  hobgoblin,  murky  flight,  will  destroy  its 
bulk  of  flies  in  a  single  night.    SHght  injury  may  occasionally  be 
done  to  the  grain  and  fruit  by  the  smaller  birds,  and  when  thus 
intrusive,  some  temporary  precaution  will  suffice  to  prevent  much 
loss.    But  whatever  it  may  be,  the  balance  of  benefit  to  the 
farmer,  from  their  presence,  is  generally  in  their  favor,  and  instead 
of  driving  them  from  his  grounds,  he  should  encourage  their 
social,  chatty  visits  by  kind  and  gentle  treatment,  and  by 
providing  trees  and  pleasant  shrubbery  for  their  accommodation. 

Toads,  Frogs,  etc. — Shakspeare  has  said  'Uhe  toad,  ugly 
and  venomous,  wears  yet  a  precious  jewel  in  his  head."  Deduct- 
ing the  venom,  we  shall  find  the  poet  right ;  for  we  can  no  more 
attempt  the  defence  of  his  beauty,  than  that  of  the  muck  heap; 
and  we  can  well  excuse  his  unprepossessing  exterior,  for  the  sake 
of  the  jewel  which  he  wears  in  his  tongue.  This,  like  that  of 
the  chamehon,  of  which  he  is  a  cousin-german,  he  darts  out  with 
lightning  rapidity,  and  clasps  his  worm  or  insect  prey  within  its 
glutinous  folds,  which  is  with  equal  rapidity  transformed  to  his 
capacious  maw.  Apparently  dull,  squat,  and  of  the  soil's  hue, 
whatever  that  may  be,  he  sits  silent,  meditative,  yet  watchful,  in 
the  thick  shade  of  some  overgrown  cabbage,  or  other  plant ;  and 
then  as  the  careless  insects  buzz  by,  or  the  grub  or  beetle  crawl 
along  unheedful  of  danger,  he  loads  his  aldermanic  carcass  with 
the  savory  repast.  Sixteen  fresh  beetles,  a  pile  equal  to  his 
fasting  bulk,  have  been  found  in  the  stomach  of  a  single  toad. 


iFINCES.  313 
The  frog^  traipsing  over  the  dewy  fields,  procures  his  summer 
subsistence  in  the  same  way  as  his  seeming  congener,  the  toad, 
and  with  equal  benefit  to  the  farmer. 

FENCES. 

In  many  countries  which  have  been  long  under  cultivation, 
with  a  dense  population  and  little  timber,  as  in  China,  and  other 
parts  of  Asia,  Italy,  France,  Belgium,  Holland,  and  other  parts 
of  Europe,  fences  are  seldom  seen.    In  certain  sections  of  the 
older  settled  portions  of  the  New  England  States,  also,  a  similar 
arrangement  prevails.    This  is  especially  the  case  over  the  wide 
intervals  or  bottom  lands  which  skirt  the  banks  of  the  Connect- 
icut and  many  other  large  rivers,  where  periodical  inundations 
would  annually  sweep  them  away.    Wherever  this  system  is 
adopted,  cultivation  proceeds  without  obstruction,  and  a  great 
■  saving  is  made  not  only  in  their  original  cost,  but  in  the  interest, 
repairs  and  renewal;  all  the  land  is  available  for  crops;  no  weeds 
or  bushes  are  permitted  to  send  their  annoying  roots  or  scatter 
their  seeds  over  the  ground ;  no  safe  harbors  are  made  for  mice, 
rats  or  other  vermin;  the  trouble  and  expense  of  keeping  up 
bars  or  gates  are  avoided ;  and  a  free  course  is  allowed  by  the 
conceded  roads  or  by-paths,  for  the  removal  of  the  crops,  and 
carrying  on  manures,  and  the  necessary  passing  to  and  fro  in 
their  cultivation.     These  are  important  advantages,  which  it 
would  be  well  for  every  community  to  consider  and  secure,  to 
the  full  extent  of  their  circumstances.    The  inconveniences  of 
this  arrangement  are  trifling.    "When  cattle  or  sheep  are  pastured 
in  Europe,  where  fences  are  wanting,  they  are  placed  under  the 
guidance  of  a  shepherd,  who,  with  the  aid  of  a  well  trained  dog, 
v/ill  keep  a  large  herd  of  animals  in  perfect  subjection,  within 
the  prescribed  limits.    In  the  unfenced  part  of  the  Connecticut 
valley,  (where  extensive  legislative  powers  reside  in  the  separate 
towns,  which  enables  each  to  adopt  such  regulations  as  best 
comport  with  their  own  interests,)  no  animals  are  permitted  to 
go  on  to  the  fields  till  autumn,  and  the  crops  are  required  to  be 
14 


314 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


removed  at  a  designated  time,  when  each  occupant  is  at  liberty 
to  turn  on  to  the  common  premises,  a  number  of  cattle  propor- 
tionate to  his  standing  forage,  which  is  accurately  ascertained  by  a 
supervisory  board.  A  certain  number  of  fences  are  necessary  for 
such  fields  as  are  continued  in  pasture  through  the  season,  but, 
unfortunately,  custom  in  this  country  has  increased  them  beyond 
all  necessity  or  reason.  It  rests  with  the  farmers  to  abate  such 
as  they  deem  inconsistent  with  their  interests. 

The  kind  of  fences  should  vary  according  to  the  controlling 
circumstances  of  the  farm.  In  those  situations  where  stone 
abounds,  and  especially  if  it  is  a  nuisance,  heavy  stone  fences, 
broad  and  high,  are  undoubtedly  the  most  proper.  Where  these 
are  not  abundant,  an  economical  fence  may  be  constructed,  by 
a  substantial  foundation  of  stone,  reaching  two  or  two  and  a 
half  feet  above  ground,  in  which  posts  are  placed,  at  proper 
distances,  with  two  or  three  bar  holes  above  the  wall,  in  which 
an  equal  number  of  rails  are  inserted.  Post  and  rail,  and  post 
and  board  fences  are  common  where  there  is  a  deficiency  ot 
timber.  The  posts  should  be  placed  from  two  and  a  half  to  three 
feet  below  the  surface,  in  the  center  of  a  large  hole,  and 
surrounded  by  fine  stone,  which  should  be  well  pounded  dowii 
by  a  heavy  iron-shod  rammer,  as  they  are  filled  in.  The  post 
will  not  stand  as  firmly  at  first  as  if  surrounded  by  dirt,  but  it 
will  last  much  longer.  The  lower  end  should  be  pointed,  which 
prevents  its  heaving  with  the  frost.  If  the  position  of  the  post, 
while  in  the  tree,  be  reversed,  or  the  upper  end  of  the  split 
section  of  the  trunk  which  is  used  for  a  post,  be  placed  in  the 
earth,  it  will  be  more  durable.  Charring  or  partially  burning  the 
part  of  the  post  which  is  buried,  will  add  to  its  duration.  So, 
also,  will  imbedding  it  in  ashes,  lime,  charcoal,  or  clay;  or  it  may 
be  bored  at  the  surface  with  a  large  auger,  diagonally  down- 
wards and  nearly  through,  filled  with  salt  and  closely  plugged. 
The  best  timber  for  posts,  in  the  order  of  its  durability,  is  red 
cedar,  yellow  locust,  black  walnut,  white  oak,  and  chestnut.  We 
recently  saw  red  cedar  posts,  used  for  a  porch,  which,  we  were 


FENCES.  315 

assured,  had  been  standing  exposed  to  the  weather  previous  to 
the  year  1770,  and  they  were  still  perfectly  sound.  Two  years 
ago,  we  took  up  about  thirty  old  red  cedar  fence  posts,  which 
had  stood  forty -seven  years  in  a  compact  clay  soil,  and  all  but 
three  or  four  of  them  were  perfectly  sound,  throughout.  The 
avidity  with  which  silicious  sands  and  gravel  act  upon  wood, 
renders  a  post  fence  expensive  for  such  soils. 

There  are  large  portions  of  our  country  where  timber  abounds, 
especially  in  the  uncleared  parts  of  it,  where  the  zig-zag,  worm' 
or  Virginia  fence  is  by  far  the  most  economical.    The  timber  is 
an  incumbrance,  and  therefore  costs  nothing,  and  the  rails  can  be 
cut  and  split  to  fen  or  twelve  feet  long  for  seventy-five  cents  to 
a  dollar  per  hundred;  and  the  hauling  and  placing  is  still  less. 
With  good  rails,  well  laid  up  from  the  ground  on  stones  or  dura- 
ble blocks,  and  properly  crossed  at  the  ends,  and  locked  at  the 
top,  they  are  firm  and  durable.    Staking  the  corners,  by  project- 
ing  rails,  gives  an  unsightly  appearance  at  aU  times,  and  is 
particularly  objectionable  for  plowing,  as  it  considerably  increases 
tlie  waste  ground.    The  same  object  is  obtained  by  locking  the 
fence  when  completed,  with  a  long  rail  on  each  side,  one  end 
resting  on  the  ground  and  the  other  laid  into  the  angle,  in  a  line 
with  the  fence.    More  symmetry  and  neatness  is  secured  and  a 
trifling  amount  of  timber  saved,  by  putting  two  smaU  upright 
stakes,  one  on  each  side  of  the  angle,  and  securing  theni  by 
a  white  oak  plank,  six  inches  wide  by  eighteen  inches  long  with 
two  holes  of  three  inches  diameter  bored  eight  inches  apart,  and 
shpped  over  the  posts,  after  most  of  the  rails  have  been  laid 
Stout  annealed  wire,  the  size  of  No.  8  or  9,  wrapped  around 
each  stake  to  hold  them  together,  answers  quite  as  well  An 
additional  rail  may  be  laid  over  it  to  keep  the  yokes,  caps  or 
wires  m  their  place,  and  the  whole  is  thus  firmly  bound  together 
In  addition  to  the  timber  designated  for  posts,  rails  may  be  made 
from  any  kind  of  oak,  black  walnut,  black  and  white  ash,  elm 
and  hickorj.  '  ' 

Turf  and  clay  fences  have  been  tried  in  this  country  without 
success.    Our  frosts  and  rains  are  so  severe  as  to  break  and 


316  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 

crumble  them  down  continually.     Cattle  tread  upon  and  gore 
them;  and  to  swine  and  sheep  they  scarcely  offer  any  resistance. 
Wire  fences  have  been  used  to  some  extent,  and  if  galvanized 
wire,  which  is  not  liable  to  rust,  could  be  procured  at  a  reason- 
able'cost,  it  would  combine  gracefulness  and  utihty  in  a  high 
degree.    The  hurdle,  or  hght  movable  fence,  is  variously  formed, 
of  cordage,  wire,  or  wicker  work,  in  short  panels,  and  firmly  set 
into  the  ground  by  sharpened  stakes  at  the  end  of  each  panel, 
and  these  are  fastened  together.    This  is  a  convenient  appendage 
to  farms,  where  heavy  green  crops  of  clover,  lucern,  peas,  turnips, 
etc.,  are  required  to  be  fed  off  in  successive  lots,  by  sheep,  swine, 
or  cattle.     We  have,  within  a  few  years  past,  seen  several 
different  samples  of  patent  hurdle  fence  in  use,  which  were  quite 
effective  for  all  kinds  of  the  lighter  farm  stock.     The  sunken 
fence,  or  wall,  is  by  far  the  most  agreeable  to  good  taste,  and  it 
is  perfectly  efiadent.    It  consists  of  a  vertical  excavation  on  one 
side,  about  five  feet  in  depth,  against  which  a  wall  i&  built  to  the 
surface  of  the  ground.^   The  opposite  side  is  inchned  at  such  an 
angle  as  will  preserve  the  sod,  without  shding,  from  the  effects  of 
frost  or  rain,  and  is  then  turfed  over.    A  farm  thus  divided, 
presents  no  obstruction  to  the  view,  while  it  is  every  where 
properly  walled  in,  besides  affording  good  ditches  for  the  drainage 
of  water.   These  sunken  fences  are  sometimes  raised  a  couple  of 
feet  above  the  ground,  which  increases  the  protection,  at  a  less 
cost  than  deepening  and  widening  the  ditch. 

Good  fences,  at  all  times  kept  in  perfect  repair,  are  the 
cheapest.  Most  of  the  unruly  animals  are  taught  their  habits  by 
their  owners.  Fences  that  are  half  down,  or  which  will  fall  by 
the  rubbing  of  cattle,  will  soon  teach  them  to  jump  and  throw 
down  such  as  they  are  unable  to  overleap.  For  the  same  reason, 
gates  are  better  than  bars.  When  the  last  are  used,  they  should 
be  let  down  so  near  the  ground  that  every  animal  can  step  over 
conveniently;  nor  should  they  be  hurried  over  so  fast  as  to 
induce  any  animal  to  jump.  In  driving  a  flock  of  sheep  through 
them,  the  lower  bars  ought  to  be  taken  entirely  out,  or  they  be 


FENCES.  317 

allowed  to  go  over  the  bars  in  single  file.  Animals  will  seldom 
become  jumpers,  except  through  their  owner's  fault,  or  from  some 
bad  example  set  them  bj  unruly  associates;  and  unless  the  fences 
be  perfectly  secure,  these  ought  to  be  stalled  until  they  can  be 
disposed  of.  The  farmer  will  find  that  no  animal  will  repay  him 
the  trouble  and  cost  of  expensive  fences  and  ruined  crops. 

Hedges  have,  from  time  immemorial,  been  used  in  Great 
Britain,  and  some  parts  of  the  European  continent,  but  are  now 
growing  unpopular  with  utihtarian  agriculturists.  They  occupy 
a  great  deal  of  ground,  and  harbor  much  vermin.  A  few  only 
have  been  introduced  in  the  old  settled  States  of  America,  and 
they  may  never  become  great  favorites  there.  For  those  dis- 
posed to  try  them,  as  a  matter  of  taste  or  fancy,  there  are  several 
kinds  of  our  thorny,  native  shrubs  that  are  both  beautiful  and 
hardy. 

The  subject  of  fences  and  hedging,  in  this  country,  has  been 
much  discussed*  in  farm  consultations  within  the  last  twenty  years 
and  various  opinions  are  entertained  as  to  the  necessity  of  their 
extent,  and  the  material  of  which  farm  enclosures  should  be 
made,  aU  depending  much  on  the  surface  of  the  land,  and  the 
kinds  of  husbandry  pursued.    Where  land  is  so  plenty  as  in  the 
United  States,  and  large  tracts,  as  in  some  of  the  States,  lie  out 
in  commons— and  frequently  owned  by  non-residents— a  wide 
latitude  of  custom  prevails  in  letting  animals  range  at  large  to 
graze  upon  them,  particularly  in  the  prairies.    In  many  good 
farming  districts,  cattle  are  permitted  to  run  in  the  highways. 
In  the  vicinity  of  growing  towns,  and  villages,  also,  where  many 
vacant  lots  are  left  unenclosed,  cattle,  swine,  and  geese,  by  com- 
mon usage,  although  there  may  be  general  or  local  laws  to  the 
contrary,  are  permitted  to  run  at  large  over  them,  and  in  the 
streets,  greatly  to  the  inconvenience  of  those  who  live  within 
secure  enclosures,  while  the  streets  in  front  of  them  are  made  a 
nmsance  by  these  common  trespassers,  and  so  long  as  law  is  dis- 
regarded, and  this  annoying  custom  prevails,  the  subject  offences 
will  remam  one  of  extraordinary  expense  and  difficulty. 


318  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE, 

As  a  rule,  excepting  the  prairie  regions,  we  have  a  great  deal 
too  much  fencing  in  America.  In  many  districts  of  country — 
the  rough  and  hilly  districts  of  New  England  for  example, — ^the 
numerous  stone  waPs  that  exist  and  have  been  built,  at  one  time 
and  another,  cost  more  than  the  entire  farms  would  now  sell  for. 
They  were  built,  probably,  partly  to  get  rid  of  the  surface  stones 
on  the  fields,  and  partly  because  the  owners  of  the  farms  thought 
at  the  time  there  was  a  necessity  for  them.  So,  also,  it  is  the 
case  with  rail  fences  where  fencing  stones  are  not  found. 

A  multiplicity  of  fences,  either  on  a  small  or  a  large  farm,  are 
little  better  than  a  nuisance.  In  England,  where  hedges  univer- 
sally prevail,  of  late  years  they  have  been  rooted  out  and  thrown 
aside  by  thousands  of  miles  in  the  aggregate.  It  should  be  so 
here,  with  stone  walls  and  fences,  as  a  great  waste  of  good  land 
will  be  saved  by  the  process.  Where  fencing  material  is  scarce 
and  dear,  excessive  fencing  will  probably  take  care  of  itself 
Eoad  fencing  is  the  most  difficult  wherever  cattle  run  at  large, 
and  indeed  these  are  the  only  fences  of  the  farm,  beyond  those 
to  enclose  the  buildings,  which  assume  a  permanent  character, 
and  demand  a  lasting  material  for  their  construction. 

Hedges,  for  road  fencing,  are  probably  the  best,  if  we  can  find 
the  proper  kinds  of  wood  for  the  purpose.  The  Enghsh  haw- 
thorn, of  which  the  English  hedges  are  usually  made,  does  not 
thrive  in  our  cold,  hot,  and  drier  seasons.  The  leaves  mildew 
badly  in  summer,  and  the  wood  is  apt  to  freeze  in  winter.  It 
has  been  often  tried,  and-  a  failure  has  generally,  as  often  been 
the  result.  The  varieties  of  American  thorn  have  also  been  tried, 
but  with  no  very  satisfactory  results.  The  Osage  orange  has 
been  extensively  planted.  Its  chief  objection  thus  far,  has  been 
its  liability  to  winter  kill  in  many  northern  locahties.  Yet  it 
may  surmount  this  tendency,  and  if  so,  it  makes  an  effective 
hedge,  being  a  strong  grower,  not  succoring  from  the  root,  well 
thorned,  and  when  well  grown,  sufficiently  sturdy  to  resist  any 
animal. 

Other  woods,  as  the  three  thorned  acacia,  or  honey  locust,  the 
common  white  beech,  some  varieties  of  the  willow,  and  evergreens 


SHADE  TREES. 


319 


have  been  recommended,  and  tried,  but  as  jet  with  no  well 
established  success.  We  think,  .the  wild  crab  apple,  and  plum, 
provided  they  will  bear  such  close  growing  and  clipping,  will 
prove  among  our  best  native  woods  for  this  purpose,  as  they  are 
hard  J,  not  over  rampant  growers,  and  durable.  We  are  likely, 
however,  to  undergo  a  long  series  of  trials,  before  a  universal 
American  hedge  plant  shall  become  established. 

FARM  ROADS. 

Good  roads  in  the  interior  of  a  farm  of  any  considerable  size 
are  indispensable  to  facilitate  the  passage  to  and  from  the  culti- 
vated fields,  or  pastures,  and  aid  in  drawing  all  articles  back  and 
forth.  These  roads  need  not  be  expensive  in  construction,  as 
they  are  not  in  daily  use  for  vehicles,  and  farm  stock  require  little 
accommodation  beyond  a  simple  roadway  in  passing  over  them. 
All  roads  of  this  kind  should  be  so  conveniently  located  as  to 
approach  the  several  fields  readily,  and  made  permanent  in  their 
structure,  when  once  laid  out. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  they  be  always  fenced  off  from  the^ 
adjoining  fields.  That  must  depend  on  the  mode  of  farming 
adopted,  whether  it  be  in  crop  raising,  or  stock  keeping.  The 
surface  of  the  land  and  the  character  of  the  soil  will  determine 
the  necessity  of  throwing  the  pathway  into  a  ridge,  with  side 
ditches,  or  not.  Clayey  or  heavy  muck  lands  will  require  them, 
for  a  permanently  good  road ;  free  and  loose  soils  will  be  well 
enough  without  that  labor.  Ten  to  twelve  feet  wide  is  space 
enough  for  the  trackway,  if  the  open  ditches  by  the  side  are 
shallow  enough  to  admit  a  turnout,  when  two  vehicles  meet, 
which  is  seldom  the  case  inside  of  the  farm.  If  it  be  necessary 
to  fence  the  road  into  a  lane,  twenty  to  thirty  feet  is  wide  enough  ; 
otherwise,  the  track  need  only  occupy  a  httle  more  than  the 
width  of  a  cart  or  wagon. 

SHADE  TREES, 

In  such  situations  and. numbers  as  may  be  required  around  the 
farm  premises,  are  both  ornamental  and  profitable.    They  have, 


320 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


too,  a  social  and  moral  influence,  far  beyond  the  mere  gratifica- 
tion of  the  eye,  or  the  consideration  of  dollars  and  cents.  In 
their  freshness  and  simplicity,  they  impress  the  young  mind  with 
sentiments  of  purity  and  loveliness  as  enduring  as  life.  From 
the  cradle  of  infancy,  consciousness  first  dawns  upon  the  beauty 
of  nature  beneath  their  grateful  shade;  the  more  boisterous 
sports  of  childhood  seek  their  keenest  enjoyment  amid  their 
expanded  foliage;  and  they  become  the  favorite  trysting  place 
when  the  feehngs  assume  a  graver  hue,  and  the  sentiment  of 
approaching  manhood  usurp  the  place  of  unthinking  frolic. 
Their  memory  in  after  life  greets  the  lonely  wanderer  amid  his 
trials  and  vicissitudes,  inciting  him  to  breast  adversity  till  again 
welcomed  to  their  smiling  presence.  Their  thousand  associations 
repress  the  unhallowed  aspirations  of  ambition  and  vice ;  and 
when  the  last  sun  of  decrepid  age  is  sinking  to  its  rest,  these 
venerable  monitors  solace  the  expiring  soul  with  the  assurance, 
that  a  returning  spring  shall  renew  its  existence  beyond  the 
winter  of  the  tomb. 

Trees  ought  not  to  stand  too  near  the  buildings,  but  occupy 
such  a  position  as  to  give  beauty  and  finish  to  the  landscape.  In 
addition  to  danger  from  lightning,  blowing  down,  or  the  breaking 
ojBf  of  heavy  branches,  there  is  an  excessive  dampness  from  their 
proximity,  which  produces  rapid  decay  in  such  as  are  of  wood, 
and  which  frequently  affects  the  health  of  the  inmates.  Low 
shrubbery,  that  does  not  cluster  too  thickly  and  immediately 
around  the  house,  is  not  objectionable.  Trees  are  ornamental  to 
the  streets  and  highways,  but  should  be  at  such  a  distance  from 
the  fences  as  will  prevent  injury  to  the  crops  and  afford  a  grateful 
shade  to  the  wayfarer.  In  certain  sections  of  the  Middle  and 
Southern  States,  where  the  soil  is  parched  from  the  long,  sultry 
summers,  it  has  been  found  that  shade  trees  rather  increased  than 
diminished  the  forage  of  the  pastures,  but  through  most  of  the 
Middle  and  Northern  States,  they  are  decidedly  disadvantageous, 
as  the  feed  is  found  to  be  sweeter  and  more  abundant  beyond 
their  reach.    For  this  reason,  such  trees  as  are  preserved  exclu- 


SHADE  TBEES. 


321 


sivelj  for  timber  should  be  kept  together  in  the  wood  lots,  and 
even  many  that  are  designed  for  necessary  shade  or  ornament, 
may  be  grouped  in  tasteful  copses,  with  greater  economy  of 
ground  and  manifest  improvement  to  the  landscape. 

In  the  selection  of  trees,  regard  should  be  had  not  only  to  the 
beauty  of  the  tree  and  its  fitness  for  shade,  but  to  its  ultimate 
value  as  timber  and  fuel.    The  e?m,  in  the  Northern  and  Middle 
States,  w^hen  standing  isolated,  is  one  of  our  most  graceful  and 
imposing  trees.    It  grows  to  an  immense  size,  with  graceful  pro- 
jecting hmbs  and  long  pendent  branches.    It  is  Hable  to  few 
diseases,  and  the  fuel  and  timber  are  good  for  most  purposes. 
Every  one  who  has  seen  the  patriarchal  elms  which  grace  the 
beautiful  villages  of  the  Connecticut  valley,  and  other  old  towns 
of  New  England,  must  wish  to  see  them  universally  disseminated. 
The  roch  or  sugar  maple  is  a  beautiful  tree,  having  a  straight 
trunk  and  regular  upward  branching  limbs,  forming  a  top  of  great 
symmetry  and  elegance.    Beside  the  ornament  and  thick  shade 
it  affords,  it  gives  an  annual  return  in  its  sap,  which  is  used  for 
making  into  sugar  and  syrup ;  the  fuel  is  equal  to  any  of  our 
native  trees;  the  timber  is  valuable,  yielding  the  beautiful  glossy 
bird's-eye  maple  so  much  esteemed  for  furniture.     The  Uack 
walnut  is  a  stately,  graceful  tree,  of  great  value  for  wood  and 
durable  timber,  and  besides  its  extensive  use  for  plain,  substantial 
furniture,  the  knots  and  crotches  make  the  rich  dark  veneering, 
which  rivals  the  mahogany  or  rosewood  in  brilliancy  and  lasting 
beauty.    In  fertile  soil  it  hkewise  bears  a  highly  flavored  nut. 
The  hutternut  is  also  a  fine  tree  for  shade,  as  well  as  for  its  rich 
flavored  fruit.    So,  too,  with  the  shell  or  sJiagharh  hickory.  The 
white  ash  has  a  more  slender  and  stiff"er  top  than  either  of  the 
preceding,  yet  is  Hght  and  graceful.    The  fuel  is  good,  and  the 
timber  unequalled  in  value  for  the  carriage  maker.    The  weeping 
willow,  in  the  Middle  States,  south  of  latitude  42°,  is  a  tree  of 
variegated  foliage,  and  long,  flexile  twigs,  sometimes  traihng  the 
ground  for  yards  in  length.    Its  soft  silvery  leaves  are  among  the 
earliest  of  spring,  and  the  last  to  maintain  their  verdure  in  the 
14* 


322 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


autumn.  Its  timber  is  worthless  and  the  wood  of  little  value. 
The  hlach  and  white  oaks^  on  soil  adapted  to  them,  are  trees  of 
commanding  beautj  and  stalwart  growth.  The  foliage  appears 
late^  but  is  unsurpassed  for  depth  and  richness  of  color  and  highly 
polished  surface,  and  retains  its  summer  green  long  after  the  early- 
frosts  have  mottled  the  ash  and  streaked  the  maple  with  their 
rainbow  hues.  When  grown  on  dry.  and  open  land,  both  fue. 
and  timber  are  valuable.  The  locust  is  a  beautiful  tree,  of  rapid 
growth,  flowering  profusely,  and  with  layers  or  massive  flakes  of 
innumerable  leaflets  of  the  deepest  verdure.  The  wood  is 
unrivalled  for  durability  as  ship  timber,  except  by  the  live  oak ; 
and  for  posts  or  exposure  to  the  weather,  it  is  only  excelled  by 
the  savin,  or  red  cedar.  It  has  of  late  years  been  subject  to 
severe  attack  and  great  injury  from  the  borer,  a  worm  against 
whose  ravages  hitherto  there  has  been  no  successful  remedy.  Its 
chief  drawback  is  its  propensity  to  throw  up  suckers.  The 
button  woodj  sycamore^  or  plane  tree,  by  all  of  which  names 
it  is  known  in  different  parts  of  this  country,  is  of  gigantic 
dimensions,  when  occupying  a  rich  and  moist  alluvial  soil.  One 
found  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio  measured  forty-seven  feet 
in  circumference,  at  a  height  of  four  feet  from  the  ground. 
Its  lofty  mottled  trunk,  its  huge  irregular  limbs,  and  its  numer- 
ous pendent  balls,  in  which  are  compressed  myriads  of  seeds, 
with  their  plumy  tufts  that  are  wafted  to  immense  distances 
for  propagation,  have  rendered  it  occasionally  a  favorite.  They 
are  often  seen  on  the  banks  of  our  rivers,  where  the  branches  inter 
lock,  and  sometimes  they  completely  span  streams  of  considerable 
size.  The  wood  is  cross-grained  and  intractable  for  working,  and 
the  timber  is  of  little  use.  This  is  a  tree,  however,  in  its  native 
grandeur,  of  history  more  than  of  the  present.  For  the  last 
forty  years,  it  has  been  afflicted  with  a  disease  which  has  dwarfed 
it  growth  and  spoiled  its  shade.  The  great  variety  of  American 
shade  trees,  both  deciduous  and  evergreen,  far  surpasses  that 
within  the  same  area  on  any  portion  of  the  eastern  continent, 


WOOD  LANDS. 


323 


but  it  would  be  transcending  our  limits  farther  to  particularize 
them. 

WOOD  LANDS. 

There  are  few  farms  in  the  United  States  where  it  is  not 
convenient  and  profitable  to  have  a  wood  lot  attached.  They 
supply  the  owner  with  his  fuel,  when  coal  is  not  accessible,  which 
he  can  prepare  at  leisure  times;  they  furnish  him  with  timber 
for  buildings,  rails,  posts,  and  for  the  occasional  demands  for 
implements;  they  also  require  little  attention.  The  trees  should 
be  kept  in  a  vigorous,  growing  condition,  as  the  profits  are  as 
much  enhanced  from  this  cause  as  any  of  the  cultivated  crops. 
Few  of  our  American  fields  require  planting  with  forest  trees. 
The  soil  is  everywhere  adapted  to  their  growth,  and  being  full  of 
seeds  and  roots,  when  but  recently  deceased,  they  will  everywhere 
spring  up  spontaneously.  Even  the  oak  openings  of  the  West, 
with  here  and  there  a  scattered  tree,  and  such  6f  the  prairies  as 
border  upon  wood  lands,  when  rescued  from  the  destructive  effects 
of  the  annual  fires,  will  rapidly  shoot  up  into  vigorous  forests. 

"We  have  repeatedly  seen  instances  of  the  re-covering  of  oak 
barrens  and  prairies  with  young  forests,  which  was  undoubtedly 
their  condition  before  the  Indians  subjected  them  to  conflagration; 
and  they  have,  indeed,  always  maintained  their  foothold  against 
these  desolating  fires,  wherever  there  was  moisture  enough  in  the 
soil  to  arrest  their  progress.  In  almost  every  instance,  if  the 
germs  of  forest  vegetation  have  not  been  extinguished  in  the  soil, 
the  wood  lot  may  be  safely  left  to  self  propagation,  as  it  will  be 
certain  to  produce  those  trees  which  are  best  suited  to  the  present 
state  of  4he  soil.  Shghtly  thinning  the  young  wood  may  in  some 
cases  be  desirable,  and  especially  by  the  removal  of  such  worth- 
less shrubbery  as  never  attains  a  size  or  character  to  render  it  of 
any  value.  Such  are  the  alders,  the  blue  beach,  'swamp  willow, 
etc.,  and  where  there  is  a  redundance  of  the  better  varieties  of 
equal  vigor,  those  may  be  removed  that  will  be  worth  the  least 
when  matured.  In  most  of  our  woodlands,  however,  nature  is 
left  to  assert  her  own  unaided  preferences,  growing  what  and  how 


324 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


she  pleases,  and,  it  must  be  confessed,  she  is  seldom  at  variance 
with  the  owner's  interest.  Serious  and  permanent  injury  has 
often  followed  close  thinning.  In  cutting  over  woodlands,  it  is 
generally  best  to  remove  all  the  large  trees  oh  the  premises  at 
the  same  time.  This  admits  a  fresh  growth  on  equal  footing, 
and  allows  that  variety  to  get  the  ascendency  to  which  the  soil 
is  best  suited. 

In  the  older  settled  States,  where  land  and  its  productions  are 
comparatively  high,  many  adopt  the  plan  of  clearing  off  every 
thing;  even  burning  the  old  logs  and  brush,  and  then  sow  one 
or  more  crops  of  wheat  or  rye,  for  which  the  land  is  in  admirable 
condition,  from  the  long  accumulation  of  vegetable  matter,  and 
the  heavy  dressing  of  ashes  thus  received.  They  then  allow  the 
forest  to  resume  its  original  claims,  which  it  is  not  slow  to  do, 
from  the  abundance  of  seeds  and  roots  in  the  ground.  But  unless 
the  crop  be  valuable  the  utility  of  this  practice  is  doubtful,  as,  by 
the  destruction  of  all  the  young  stuff  which  may  be  left,  there  is 
a  certain  delay  of  some  years  in  the  after  growth  of  the  wood; 
and  the  gradual  decay  of  the  old  trunks  and  brush  may  minister 
fully  as  much  to  its  growth  as  the  ash  whieh  their  combustion 
leaves;  and  the  fertihty  of  the  soil  is  diminished  just  in  propor- 
tion to  the  amount  of  vegetable  matter  which  may  have  been 
abstracted  by  the  grain  crops  taken  off.  The  proper  time  for 
cutting  over  the  wood  must  depend  on  its  character,  the  soil,  and 
the  uses  to  which  it  is  to  be  apphed.  For  saw  lOgs  or  frame 
timber,  it  should  have  a  thrifty  growth  of  forty  or  fifty  years ; 
but  in  the  meantime  much  scattering  fuel  may  be  taken  from  it, 
and  occasionally  such  mature  timber  trees  as  can  be  removed 
without  injury  to  the  remainder.  For  fuel  alone,  a  much  earlier 
cutting  has  been  found  most  profitable. 

The  Sahsbnry  Iron  Company,  in  Connecticut,  has  several 
thousand  acres  of  land,  which  were  purchased  and  have  been 
reserved  exclusively  for  supplying  their  own  charcoal.  The 
intelligent  manager  informed  us,  when  recently  there,  that  from 
an  experience  of  eighty  years^  they  had  ascertained  the  most 


WOOD  LANDS. 


325 


profitable  period  for  cutting  was  once  in  about  sixteen  years, 
when  everything  was  removed  of  an  available  size,  and  the  wood 
was  left  entirely  to  itself,  for  another  growth.  It  has  been  found 
that  this  yielded  an  annual  interest  on  $16  to  $20  an  acre,  which 
for  a  rough  and  rather  indifferent  soil,  remote  from  a  wood  or 
timber  market,  will  pay  fully  as  much  as  the  net  profits  on 
cultivated  land  in  the  neighborhood. 

There  are  numerous  hill  and  mountain  ranges  of  land  in  many 
of  our  States,  once  cleared  and  cultivated  to  some  extent,  (partic- 
ularly in  the  New  England  States,)  which  are  now  abandoned 
to  the  growth  of  wood,  and  wisely  so,  as  more  profitable  than 
the  lean  returns  of  either  cropping  in  grain,  or  grazing.  They 
renew  a  good  growth  of  wood  in  twenty  to  thirty  years,  at 
farthest,  which  may  be  worth,  according  to  its  locality,  fifty  to 
one  hundred  dollars  per  acre,  when  an  acre  of  such  land,  cleared 
and  in  grass,  would  scarcely  yield  summer  pasture  for  a  single 
sheep.    We  have  seen  thousands  of  acres,  once  in  farms,  (on 
which,  too,  great  men  were  born  and  grew  to  manhood,)  now 
grown  into  wood.    In  old  times,  when  all  farm  labor  was  done 
by  hand,  such  land  paid  to  Kve  on  as  things  then  went;  but,  with 
the  application  of  improved  implements,  by  which  hand  labor  has 
largely  been  superseded,  and  cannot  be  used  in  such  rough  lands 
the  ordinary  crops  cannot  be  profitably  grown.     Hence,  they 
become,  as  farm  lands,  comparatively  worthless.     The  warm 
sheltered,  sunny  nooks  are  only  reserved,  which,  by  better  culti- 
vation, have  become  more  profitable  than  the  whole  farm  put 
together,  under  the  old  method  of  ranging  over  the  broader 
surface,  with  the  same  amount  of  labor. 

When  young,  the  wood  should  be  kept  entirely  free  from  sheep 
and  cattle,  as  they  feed  upon  the  fresh  shoots  with  nearly  the 
same  avidity  as  they  do  upon  grass  or  clover,  and  when  it  is 
desirable  to  thicken  the  standing  trees  by  an  additional  growth 
cattle  should  be  kept  from  the  range  till  such  time  as  the  new 
sprouts  or  seedling  may  have  attained  a  height  beyond  their 
reach.    Where  it  is  desirable  to  bring  into  woodland  such  fields 


326 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


as  have  not  forest  roots  or  seeds  already  deposited  in  a  condition 
for  germination,  the  fields  should  be  sown  or  planted  with  all  the 
various  nuts  or  seeds  adapted  to  the  soil,  and  which  it  is  desirable 
to  cultivate.  Transplanting  trees  for  a  forest  in  this  country, 
cannot  at  present  be  made  to  pay,  from  its  large  expense,  and  if 
the  trees  will  not  grow  naturally  or  by  sowing,  the  land  should 
be  continued  in  pastures  or  cultivation.  -  There  are  some  lands  so 
unfitted  for  tillage  by  their  roughness  or  texture,  as  to  be  much 
more  profitable  as  woodland.  It  is  better  to  retain  such  in 
forest,  and  make  from  them  whatever  they  are  capable  of  yield- 
ing, than  by  clearing  and  bringing  them  into  use,  to  add  them  to 
what  are  perhaps  already  superfluous  tillage  fields,  and  become  a 
drain  on  labor  and  manures  which  they  illy  repay. 

In  clearing  lands,  when  it  is  desirable  to  reserve  sufficient  trees 
for  a  park  or  shade,  a  selection  should  be  made  of  such  as  are 
young  and  healthy,  which  have  grown  in  the  most  open  places, 
with  a  short  stem  and  thick  top.  It  will  tend  to  insure  their 
continued  and  vigorous  growth,  if  the  top  and  leading  branches 
be  shortened.  -  A  large  tree  will  seldom  thrive  when  subjected  to 
the  new  condition  in  which  it  is  placed,  after  the  removal  of  the 
shade  and  moisture  by  which  it  has  been  surrounded.  They  will 
generally  remain  stationary  or  soon  decay;  and  the  shght  foot- 
hold they  have  upon  the  earth  by  their  roots,  which  was  sufficient 
for  their  protected  situation  while  surrounded  by  other  trees, 
exposes  them  to  destruction  from  violent  gales ;  and  they  seldom 
have  that  beauty  of  top  and  symmetry  of  appearance  which  should 
entitle  them  to  be  retained  singly.  If  partiahties  are  to  be 
indulged  for  any,  they  should  be  surrounded  by  a  copse  of  younger 
trees  by  which  they  will  be  in  a  measure  protected.  Young 
stocks  should  be  left  in  numbers  greater  than  are  required,  as 
many  of  them  will  die,  and  from  the  remainder  selections  can  be 
made  of  such  as  will  best  answer  the  purpose  designed.  In  the 
many  hundreds  of  acres  of  original  forest  which  we^ave  had 
the  supervision  of  clearing  up,  where  we  left  occasional  copses 
of  large  growth,  they  almost  all  died  out  in  a  few  years. 


WOOD  LANDS. 


327 


We  have  of  late  seen  many  ingeniously  written  articles  against 
the  impolicy  of  clearing  lands  of  their  timber,  as  opening  them  to 
prolonged  droughts,  and,  of  course,  destroying  much  of  their  value 
for  agricultural  purposes,  and  drying  up  the  springs  and  streams. 
The  theory  for  retaining  the  timber  on  the  land,  is — for  we  believe 
the  proposition  is  theoretical  only, — that  the  woods,  or  forests 
keep  the  land  shaded,  and  so  prevent  evaporation  of  the  water 
from  the  soil,  thus  letting  the  rains  in  to  supply  the  springs,  and 
promote  their  perpetual  flow,  while  the  low  and  swampy  places, 
by  retaining  the  collections  of  water  within  them  to  a  continuous 
supply  or  inlet  of  the  streams  into  which  they  run,  keep  them  at 
a  more  equable  volume;  also,  that  the  trees  draw  the  rain  from 
the  passing  clouds,  break  their  misty  volume,  and  arrest  their 
progress  into  rain,  when  if  the  land  were  clear  of  trees  the  clouds 
and  rain  would  pass  into  more  favored  quarters.    Another  branch 
of  the  theory  is  that  in  clearing  up  the  land,  the  water  courses  are 
opened  for  immediately  discharging  the  falling  water  from  them, 
thus  passing  it  rapidly  into  the  larger  streams  and  rivers,  sweUing 
them  inordinately,  and  causing  greater  freshets  than  when  the 
country  was  new,  and  thus  causing  droughts. 

The  answer  to  these  propositions  as  it  appears  to  us,  is  short 
and  altogether  probable  and  practical. 

1st.  Woods  and  forests  take  up  quite  as  much  moisture  from 
the  soil,  in  the  support  of  their  trunks,  branches  and  leaves,  thus, 
evaporating  it  into  the  atmosphere  from  the  soil,  as  growing  crops 
do.  If  they  retain  the  surplus  water  in  swamps,  it  is  of  no  use 
either  to  the  trees  themselves,  or  the  streams  into  which  they 
flow  only  for  mill  power ^  a  matter  of  httle  consequence  where 
farm  lands  are  of  much  value. 

2d.  While  we  have  milHons  of  acres  of  prairie  lands  in  many 
of  our  TVestern  States,  where  for  miles  scarcely  a  tree  is  seen,  and 
rains  appear  to  be  as  abundant  there  as  elsewhere,  who  can  sup- 
pose that  a  wide  forest  of  trees,  not  over  a  hundred  feet  high, 
while  the  clouds  pass  over  at  the  height  of  several  hundred,  or 
several  thousand  feet  above  them  can  exercise  any  but  the  feeblest 


328 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


influeiice  in  a^rresting  their  course,  or  break  them  into  a  discharge 
their  waters? 

3d.  Supposing  the  falUng  waters  on  cleared  and  cultivated 
lands  do  discharge  themselves  rapidly  into  the  water  courses,  as 
they  should  do  ?  If  the  parched  ground  needs  the  rain,  it  will 
absorb  it  to  its  full  capacity  for  doing  so.  The  surplus  ought  to 
run  away,  as  it  only  damages  the  crops  by  lying  on  them.  If 
the  springs  are  really  good  for  anything — that  is,  lie  deep  enough 
to  give  water  in  a  dry  time  when  they  are  really  needed — their 
fountains  lie  too  deep  to  be  affected  by  summer  rains.  As  for 
the  freshets  of  recent  years  being  so  much  greater  than  in  olden 
times,  we  have  little  faith  that  they  are  so.  Men's  memories  are 
short,  and  not  always  accurate. 

THE  PROPER  TIME  FOR  CUTTING  TIMBER. 

Nine-tenths  of  the  community  think  winter  the  time  for  this 
purpose,  but  the  reason  assigned,  "that  the  sap  is  then  in  the 
roots,"  shows  its  futility,  as  it  is  evident  to  the  most  superficial 
observer  that  there  is  nearly  the  same  quantity  of  sap  in  the  tree 
at  all  seasons.  It  is  less  active  in  winter,  and  like  all  other  moist- 
ure, is  congealed  during  the  coldest  weather,  yet  when  not  abso- 
lutely frozen,  circulation  is  never  'entirely  stopped  in  the  living 
tree.  Reason  or  philosophy  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the 
period  of  the  maturity  of  the  leaf,  or  from  the  last  of  June  to 
the  first  of  November,  is  the  season  for  cutting  timber  in  its  per- 
lection.  Certain  it  is,  that  we  have  numerous  examples  of  tim- 
ber cut  at  this  period,  which  has  exhibited  a  durability  twice  or 
three  times  as  great  as  that  cut  in  winter,  when  placed  under 
precisely  the  same  circumstances.  After  it  is  felled,  it  should  at 
once  be  peeled,  drawn  from  the  woods  and  elevated  from  the 
ground  to  facilitate  drying,  and  if  it  is  intended  to  be  used  under 
cover,  the  sooner  it  is  put  there  the  better.  "Wood  designed  for 
fuel,  will  spend  much  better  when  cut  as  above  mentioned  and 
immediately  housed,  but  as  this  is  generally  inconvenient,  from 
the  labor  of  the  farm  being  then  required  for  the  harvesting  of 


FARMING   TOOLS.  329 

the  crops,  it  may  be  more  economical  to  cut  it  whenever  there  is 
most  leisure. 

Preservation  of  Timber. — Various  preparations,  of  late 
years,  have  been  tried  for  the  more  effectual  preservation  of  tim- 
ber, which  have  proved  quite  successful,  but  the  expense  pre- 
cludes their  adoption  for  general  purposes.  Chemistry,  in  its 
later  developments,  has  aided  much  in  the  knowledge  of  the  best 
compositions  for  preserving  timber,  when  exposed  to  the  weather, 
from  the  destructive  action  of  the  elements;  and  from  the  con- 
tinuous experiments  still  made,  it  is  hoped  that  different,  cheap, 
and  effective  preparations,  with  their  modes  of  application,  will 
ere  long  be  found  for  common  use.  Under  water,  without  special 
preparation,  almost  any  kind  of  timber  will  endure  sound  for 
centuries.  Gas-tar,  salts,  crude  petroleum,  and  alkalies  of  a  cheap 
kind  and  easily  procured,  are  now  his  chief  material,  and  answer 
a  tolerable  purpose.  But  something  still  more  enduring  than 
these  have  proved,  awaits  the  farmer's  demands,  and  should  be 
afforded  within  the  limits  of  his  means.  The  cost  of  obtaining 
the  present  known  chemical  compounds,  usually  termed  kyaniz- 
lUfT  is  too  great  with  the  large  majority.  Although  the  expense 
Liiese  preparations  may  prevent  their  use  for  large,  cheap 
structures,  yet  for  all  the  lighter  instruments,  such  as  farmer's 
tools,  plows,  etc.,  where  the  cost  of  wood  is  inconsiderable,  in 
comparison  with  that  of  making,  it  would  be  economy  to  use 
such  timber  only,  as  will  give  the  longest  duration,  though  its 
first  price  may  be  ten-fold  that  of  the  more  perishable  material. 

FARMING  TOOLS. 

These  should  form  an  important  item  of  the  farmer's  attention, 
as  upon  their  proper  construction  depends  much  of  the  economy 
and  success  with  which  he  can  perform  his  operations.  There 
have  been  great  and  important  improvements  within  the  past  few 
years,  in  most  of  the  implements,  which  have  diminished  the 
expense  while  they  have  greatly  improved  the  mechanical  opera- 
tions  of  agriculture.    We  have  studiously  avoided  a  reference  to 


330 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


any  of  these,  as  there  are  many  competitors  for  similar  and  nearly 
equal  improvement,  and  in  this  career  of  sharp  and  commendable 
rivalry,  what  is  the  best  to-day,  may  be  supplanted  by  something 
better  to-morrow.  These  implements  may  now  be  found  at  the 
agricultural  warehouses,  of  almost  every  desirable  variety.  Of 
these,  the  best  only  should  be  procured;  such  as  are  the  most 
perfect  in  their  principles  and  of  the  most  durable  materials. 
The  wood  work  should  be  well  guarded  with  paint,  if  to  be 
exposed  to  the  weather,  and  the  iron  or  steel  with  paint,  or  a 
coating  of  hot  tar,  unless  kept  brightened  by  use.  When  required 
for  cutting,  they  should  always  be  sharp,  even  to  the  hoe,  the 
spade,  and  the  share  and  coulter  of  the  plow.  When  not  in  use, 
they  ought  to  be  in  a  dry  place.  Plows,  harrows,  carts  and  sleds, 
should  all  be  thus  protected,  and  by  their  longer  durability  they 
will  amply  repay  the  expense  of  shed  room.  They  ought  also 
to  be  kept  in  the  best  repair,  which  may  be  done  at  leisure  times 
so  as  to  be  ready  for  use.  (Some  additional  remarks  on  this  sub- 
ject will  be  found  under  the  head  of  *'plows.") 

THE  AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION  OF  THE  FARMER. 

Though  last  mentioned,  this  is  of  the  first  importance  to  the 
farmer's  success.  It  should  commence  with  the  thorough  ground- 
work attainments,  everywhere  to  be  acquired  in  our  primary 
schools,  and  should  embrace  the  elementary  knowledge  of  me- 
chanics, botany,  chemistry  and  geology;  nor  can  it  be  complete 
without  some  acquaintance  with  anatomy  and  physiology.  The 
learner  ought  then  to  have  a  complete,  practical  understanding 
of  the  manual  operations  of  the  farm,  the  best  manner  of  plant- 
ing, cultivating  and  securing  crops;  he  should  be  familiar  with 
the  proper  management,  feeding  and  breeding  of  animals;  the 
treatment  of  soils,  the  application  of  manures,  and  all  the  various 
matters  connected  with  agriculture. 

This  will  be  but  the  commencement  of  his  education,  and  it 
should  be  steadily  pursued  through  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He 
must  learn  from  his  own  experience,  which  is  the  most  certain  and 


AGRICULTURAL  EDUCATION. 


331 


complete  knowledge  lie  can  obtain,  as  he  thus  ascertains  all  the 
circumstances  which  have  led  to  certain  results;  and  he  should 
also  learn  from  the  experience  of  his  neighbors,  and  from  his 
personal  observation  on  every  subject  that  comes  within  his 
notice.  He  will  be  particularly  assisted  by  the  cheap  agricultu- 
ral journals  of  the  present  day,  which  embrace  the  latest  expe- 
rience of  some  of  our  best  farmers,  throughout  remote  sections 
of  country,  on  almost  every  subject  pertaining  to  his  occupation. 
To  these  should  be  added  the  selection  of  standard,  reliable  works, 
.  on  the  various  topics  of  farming,  and  of  the  latest  authority, 
which  can  be  procured  for  direction  and  reference. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  agricultural  schools  and  colleges^  now  being 
so  generally  estabhshed  in  our  different  States,  in  aid  of  the  farm- 
ing interests  of  the  country,  where  experienced  and  gifted  minds 
should  be  placed,  surrounded  by  the  means  for  conveying  instruc- 
tion in  the  fullest,  yet  most  simple  and  effective  manner,  and  with 
every  requisite  for  practical  illustration,  may  prove  of  signal 
benefit.  We  cannot  permit  ourselves  to  doubt  that  this  neglected 
field  will  soon  be  efficiently  occupied,  and  thus  supply  the  only 
link  remaining  in  the  thorough  education  of  the  farmer. 


I 


CHAPTER  XIII 


PAKM  BUILDINGS. 

This  is  a  subject  so  various  and  extensive  in  its  discussion, 
tliat  we  can,  here,  barely  touch  upon  it.  Only  general  hints  and 
suggestions  can  here  be  made,  the  subject  itself  requiring  a  full 
treatise  by  an  author  competent  to  its  mastery. 

Great  neglect  still  prevails  in  this  country,  in  the  erection  of 
suitable  farm  buildings.  The  deficiency  extends  not  only  to  their 
number,  which  is  often  inadequate  to  the  wants  of  the  farm,  but 
more  frequently  to  their  location,  arrangement  and  manner  of 
construction.  The  annual  losses  which  occur  in  consequence  of 
this  neglect,  would,  in  a  few  years,  furnish  every  farm  in 
the  Union  with  barns  and  outhouses  entirely  sufficient  for  the 
necessities  of  each.  We  will  give  briefly,  in  detail,  the 
leading  considerations  which  should  govern  the  farmer  in  their 
construction. 

THE  FARM  HOUSE. 

If  this  is  required  for  the  occupation  of  the  oVner,  it  may  be 
of  any  form  and  size  his  means  and  taste  dictate.  If  for  a  tenant, 
and  to  be  employed  solely  with  a  reference  to  its  value  to  the 
farm,  it  should  be  neat,  comfortable,  and  of  convenient  size.  It 
should  especially  contain  a  cool,  airy  and  spacious  dairy  room, 
unless  the  owner  should  prefer  one  independent  of  the  house, 
over  a  clear  spring  or  cool  rivulet,  where,  partially  protected 
from  the  sun  by  a  sheltering  bank,  half  buried  in  the  earth,  and 
made,  as  it  should  be,  if  possible,  of  stone,  the  cool  atmosphere 
within  will  afford  the  best  safeguard  against  flies  and  other  insects,  , 
and  preserve  the  butter  and  cheese  in  the  finest  condition.  Stone 


FARM  BUILDINGS. 


333 


or  brick  are  the  best  materials  for  dwellings,  as  they  are  cooler 
in  summer  and  warmer  in  winter,  and  if  comfort  be  the  object  of 
the  farmer's  toil,  there  is  certainly  no  place  where  it  should  be 
sooner  consulted  than  iii  his  own  domicile.  A  naked,  scorching 
exposure,  equally  with  a  bleak  and  dreary  one,  is  to  be  avoided. 
The  design  of  a  house  is  protection  to  its  inmates,  and  if  there 
be  no  adequate  shelter  from  the  elements,  it  fails  in  its  purpose. 
It  should  be  tastefully  built,  as  this  need  not  materially  increase 
the  expense,  while  it  adds  a  pleasant  feature  to  the  farm.  It 
ought  to  occupy  a  position  easily  accessible  to  the  other  buildings 
and  the  fields,  and  yet  be  within  convenient  distance  of  the  high- 
way. It  is  desirable  to  have  it  so  far  removed  as  to  admit  of  a 
light  screen  of  trees,  and  nature  will  thus  add  an  ornament  and 
protection,  in  the  surrounding  foliage,  which  no  skill  of  the 
architect  can  equal. 

The  Cellar. — This  is  an  essential  appendage  to  a  house, 
particularly  where  roots  are  to  be  stored.    Many  appropriate  a 
part  of  it  to  the  dairy,  and  if  thus  employed  it  should  be  high, 
clean  and  well  ventilated.    The  proper  preservation  of  what  is 
contained  in  it,  and  the  health  of  the  inmates,  demand  a  suitable 
dryness  and  free  circulation  of  air.     The  cellar  is  frequently 
placed  on  the  side  of  a  hill,  which  renders  it  more  accessible  from 
without.    This  is  in  no  respect  objectionable,  if  the  walls  are 
made  sufficiently  tight  to  exclude  the  frosts.    When  on  level 
ground,  they  should  be  sunk  only  three  or  four  feet  below  the 
natural  surface,  and  the  walls  raised  enough  above  to  give  all  the 
room  wanted;  and  the  excavated  earth  can  be  banked  around 
the  house,  thus  rendering  it  more  elevated  and  pleasant.    It  also 
provides  for  the  admission  of  Hght  and  air  through  small  windows, 
which  are  placed  above  the  ground.    A  wire  gauze,  to  exclude 
flies,  ought  to  occupy  the  place  of  the  glass  in  warm  weather, 
and,  if  Hable  to  frosts,  there  should  be  double  sashes  in  winter. 
Ventilation  is  important  in  all  seasons,  and  it  may  be  secured  by 
as  large  an  aperture  as  possible  connected  with  the  chimney,  and 
the  windows  may  be  thrown  open  in  pleasant  weather  during  the 


334 


AMEKICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


warmer  part  of  the  day.  The  cellar  should  be  connected  with 
the  kitchen  or  sheds  above,  by  safe,  well  lighted  stairs.  And, 
lastly,  the  entire  building  should  be  rat-proof.  This  is  more 
easily  accomplished  than  is  generally  ihiagined.  When  erecting 
a  building,  a  carpenter,  or  mason,  for  less  than  the  additional 
expense  of  a  year's  support  for  a  troop  of  rats,  can  forever 
exclude  them  from  it,  by  the  exercise  of  a  little  ingenuity.  A 
brick  floor  in  a  cellar  is  easily  broken  up  by  these  insidious  and 
ever-busy  vermin,  and  a  plank  or  wooden  floor  is  objectionable, 
from  its  speedy  decay.  The  most  effective  and  permanent  barrier 
to  their  inroads  is  afforded  by  a  stone  pavement,  laid  with  large 
pieces,  in  cement,  closely  fitted  to  each  other  and  to  the  side 
walls.  This  is  also  secured  by  placing  a  bed  of  small  stones  and 
pebbles  on  the  ground,  and  grouting^  or  pouring  over  it  a  mortar 
made  of  lime  and  sand,  so  thin  as  to  run  freely  between  the  stones. 
When  dry,  a  thin  coating  of  water-lime  cement  is  added,  which 
is  smoothed  over  with  the  trowel.  This  can  be  so  laid  as  to 
admit  of  ready  and  perfect  drainage,  by  a  depression  in  the  center 
or  sides,  which  answers  for  gutters. 

THE  BARN 

Is  a  very  important  appendage  of  the  farm,  and  its  size  and 
form  must  depend  on  the  particular  wants  of  the  owner.  It  is 
sometimes  essential  to  have  more  than  one  on  the  premises,  but 
in  either  case  they  should  be  within  convenfent  distance  of  the 
house.  They  should  be  large  enough  to  hold  all  the  fodder  and 
animals  on  the  farm.  Not  a  hoof  about  the  premises  should  be 
required  to  brave  our  Northern  winters,  unsheltered  by  a  tight 
roof  and  a  dry  bed.  They  will  thrive  so  much  faster,  and  con- 
sume so  much  less  food  when  thus  protected,  that  the  owner  will 
be  ten-fold  remunerated.  Disease  is  thus  often  prevented,  and  if 
it  occurs,  is  more  easily  removed.  The  saving  in  fodder,  by 
placing  it  at  once  under  cover  when  cured,  is  another  great  item 
of  consideration.  Besides  the  expense  of  stacking  and  fencing, 
the  waste  of  the  tops  and  outside  fodder  in  small  stacks,  is  fre- 


FARM  BUILDINGS. 


335 


quently  one-fourth  of  the  whole,  and  if  carelessly  done,  it  will  be 
much  greater.  There  is  a  further  expense  of  again  moving  it  to 
the  barn,  or  foddering  it  in  the  field,  which  greatly  increases  the 
waste. 

It  is  a  convenient  mode  to  place  a  barn  on  a  side  hill,  inclin- 
ing to  the  south-east,  whenever  the  position  of  the  ground  admits 
of  it.  There  are  several  advantages  connected  with  this  plan. 
Room  is  obtained  by  excavating  and  underpinning,  more  cheaply 
than  in  building  above.  An  extensive  range  of  stabling  may  be 
made  below,  which  will  be  warmer  than  what  is  afforded  by  a 
wooden  building,  and  the  mangers  are  easily  supplied  with  the 
fodder  which  is  stored  above.  Extensive  cellar  room  can  be  had 
next  to  the  bank,  in  which  all  the  roots  required  for  the  cattle 
can  be  safely  stored  yet  near  to  their  mangers,  and  where  they  are 
easily  deposited  from  carts  through  windows  arranged  on  the 
upper  side,  or  scuttles  in  the  barn  floor  above.  More  room  is 
afforded  for  hay  in  consequence  of  placing  some  of  the  stables 
below,  and  in  this  way,  a  large  part  of  the  labor  of  pitching  it 
on  to  elevated  scaffolds  is  avoided.  The  barn  and  shed  ought  to 
be  well  raised  on  good  underpinnings,  to  prevent  the  rotting  of 
sills,  and  to  allow  the  free  escape  of  moisture,  as  low,  damp  prem- 
ises are  injurious  to  the  health  of  animals. 

Every  consideration  ought  to  be  given  to  the  saving  of  manure. 
The  stables  should  have  drains  that  will  carry  off  the  liquid 
evacuations  to  a  muck  heap  or  reservoir,  and  whatever  manure 
is  thrown  out,  should  be  carefully  protected.  Sheds  for  com- 
posting muck,  sods,  etc.,  may  well  be  used,  in  which  pits  are 
sunk  and  moisture  applied,  as  may  be  needed.  A  low 
roof,  projecting  several  feet  over  the  manure  which  is  thrown 
from  the  stables,  will  do  much  to  prevent  waste  from  sun  and 
rains.  The  mangers  ought  to  be  so  constructed  as  to  economize 
the  fodder.  Box  feeding  for  the  cattle  we  prefer,  as  in  addition 
to  hay,  roots  and  meal  may  be  fed  in  them  without  loss;  and 
with  over-ripe  hay,  a  great  deal  of  seed  may  in  this  way  be 
saved,  which  will  diminish  the  quantity  necessary  to  be  purchased 


33G 


AMKBIOAN  AGKICULTUEE. 


for  sowing.  The  fine  leaves  and  small  fragments  of  hay  are  also 
kept  from  waste,  which  in  racks  are  generally  lost  by  falling  on 
the  floor.  We  object  to  racks,  unless  provided  with  a  shallow 
box  underneath,  and  to  foddering  in  the  open  yards.  There  is  a 
loss  in  dragging  the  forage  to  them,  and  too  often  this  is  done 
near  a  herd  of  hungry  cattle,  which  gore  each  other,  and  are 
scarcely  to  be  kept  at  bay  by  the  use  of  the  stoutest  goad. 
There  is  also  a  waste  of  the  hay  which  falls  while  the  cattle  are 
feeding,  and  which  is  largely  increased  in  muddy  yards ;  added 
to  which,  the  animals  are  exposed  to  whatever  bad  weather  "there 
may  be  while  eating,  which  is  at  all  times  to  be  deprecated. 

Sheds. — Feeding  in  sheds  is  convenient,  and  in  many  instances 
may  take  the  place  of  the  stall  or  stable.  They  are  frequently 
and  very  properly  arranged  on  two  sides  of  the  cattle  yard,  the 
barn  forming  one  end,  and  the  other  opening  to  the  south,  unless 
this  is  exposed  to  the  prevailing  winds.  This  arrangement  forms 
a  good  protection  for  the  cattle,  and  the  sheds  being  connected 
with  the  barn,  is  of  importance  in  economizing  the  labor  in  fod- 
dering. The  racks  or  boxes  are  placed  on  the  boarded  side  of 
the  shed,  which  forms  the  outer  side  of  the  yard,  and  they  are 
filled  from  the  floor  overhead.  If  the  space  above  is  not  sufficient 
to  contain  the  necessary  quantity  of  fodder,  it  should  be  taken  from 
the  mows  or  scaffolds  of  the  barn,  and  carried  or  dragged  over 
the  floor  to  the  place  wanted.  The  floors  ought  to  be  perfectly 
tight  to  avoid  waste,  and  the  sifting  of  the  particles  of  hay  or 
seed  on  the  cattle  or  sheep.  Unless  the  ground  under  the  shed 
be  quite  dry,  it  is  better  to  plank  it,  and  it  will  then  admit  of 
cleaning  with  the  same  facility  as  the  stables.  A  portion  of  the 
shed  may  be  partitioned  off  for  close  or  open  stalls,  for  colts,  calves 
or  infirm  cattle,  and  cows  or  ewes  that  are  heavy  with  young. 
A  little  attention  of  this  kind  will  frequently  save  the  hfe  of  an 
animal,  or  add  much  to  their  comfort  and  the  general  economy 
of  farm  management.  The  surplus  straw,  cornstalks  and  the  like, 
can  be  used  for  bedding,  though  it  is  generally  preferable  to  have 
them  cut  and  fed  to  the  cattle. 


FARM  BUILDINGS. 


337 


WATER  FOR  THE  CATTLE  YARD, 

Is  an  important  item,  and  if  the  expense  of  driving  the  ani- 
mals to  a  remote  watering  place,  the  waste  of  manure  thereby 
occasioned,  the  straying  of  cattle,  and  sometimes  loss  of  limbs  or 
other  injury,  resulting  from  their  being  forced  to  go  down  icy 
slopes,  or  through  excessive  mud,  to  slake  their  thirst — if  all 
these  considerations  are  taken  into  account,  they  will  be  found 
annually  to  go  far  towards  the  expense  of  supplying  water  in  the 
yard,. where  it  would  at  all  times  be  accessible.  All  animals 
require  water  in  winter,  exc^t  such  as  hav^e  a  full  supply  of 
roots;  and  though  they  sometimes  omit  going  to  distant  and  in- 
convenient places  where  it  is  to  be  had,  they  may,  nevertheless, 
suffer  materially  for  the  want  of  it.  "When  it  is  not  possible  to 
bring  a  stream  of  running  water  into  the  yard,  or  good  water  is 
not  easily  reached  by  digging,  an  effectual  way  of  procuring  a 
supply  through  most  of  the  year,  is  by  the  construction  of 

Cisterns. — Where  there  is  a  compact  clay,  no  further  prep- 
aration is  necessary  for  stock  purposes,  than  to  excavate  to  a 
sufacient  size,  in  a  dishing  shape  at  bottom,  and  lay  a  thick  coat 
■  of  water-lime  cement  all  over  the  inner  surface,  and  cover  with 
a  stout  frame  top,  heavily  planked  over  the  surface.  Through 
this  top  a  pump  can  be  permanently  placed.  This  should  be 
made  near  the  buildings,  and  the  rains  carefully  conducted  by  the 
eaves-troughs  and  pipes,  from  an  extensive  range,  will  afford  an 
ample  supply. 

For  household  purposes,  one  should  be  made  with  more  care 
and  expense,  and  so  constructed  as  to  afford  pure  filtered  water 
at  all  times.  These  may  be  formed  in  various  ways,  and  of  dif- 
ferent materials,  stone,  brick,  or  even  wood;  though  the  two 
former  are  preferable.  They  should  be  permanently  divided  into 
two  apartments,  one  to  receive  the  water,  and  another  for  a  reser- 
voir  to  contain  such  as  is  ready  for  use.  Alternate  layers  of 
gravel,  sand,  and  charcoal  at  the  bottom  of  the  first,  and  sand 
and  gravel  in  the  last,  are  sufficient;  the  water  being  allowed  to 
15 


338 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


pass  througn  the  several  layers  mentioned,  will  be  rendered  per- 
fectly free  from  all  impm'ities.  Some  who  are  particularly  choice 
in  preparing  water,  make  use  of  filtering  stones,  but  this  is  not 
essential.  Occasional  cleaning  may  be  necessary,  and  the  substi- 
tution of  new  filtering  materials  will  at  all  times  keep  them  sweet. 

For  stock  uses,  pumping  the  water  into  troughs  from  the 
cisterns,  is  the  most  ready  way  to  draw  it,  and  this  may  be  done, 
according  to  the  quantity  of  stock  kept,  by  either  hand,  horse, 
or  wind  power — the  last  of  which,  with  a  good  mill,  is  the 
cheapest.  ^ 

THE  CARRIAGE  HOUSE,  STABLE,  GRANARY,  BINS,  ETC. 

The  carriage  house  and  horse  stable  sometimes  occupy  a  dis- 
tinct building,  which  is  a  good  precaution  against  fire,  and  where 
this  is  the  case,  it  is  frequently  convenient  to  have  the  upper  loft 
for  a  granary.  The  propriety  of  having  this  proof  against  rats 
is  obvious.  Yet  it  should  be  capable  of  thorough  ventilation 
when  the  grain  is  damp,  or  exposed  to  injury  from  want  of  air. 
Entire  cleanhness  of  the  premises,  is  the  best  remedy  against 
weevil  and  other  noxious  insects. 

The  Corn  Crib. — If  there  be  more  Indian  corn  on  the  prem-* 
ises  than  can  be  thinly  spread  over  an  elevated,  dry  floor,  the 
corn  crib  for  storing  it  should  occupy  an  isolated  position.  This 
should  be  made  of  upright  lattice  work,  with  a  far  projecting  roo^ 
and  sides  inchning  downwards  to  each  other,  so  as  to  avoid  the  ' 
admission  of  rain.  The  corn  in  the  cob  is  stored  in  open  bins  on 
either  side,  leaving  ample  room  in  the  center  for  threshing,  or  the 
use  of  the  corn  sheller.  Close  bins  may  occupy  the  ends  for  the 
reception  of  the  shelled  grain.  All  approach  from  rats  and  other 
vermin,  may  be  avoided  by  placing  the  building  on  posts,  with 
projecting  stones  or  sheet  iron  on  the  top,  and  so  high  that  they 
cannot  reach  it  by  jumping. 

A  Tool  House  and  Work  Shop  ought  always  to  have  a  place 
about  the  premises.  In  this  building,  all  the  minor  tools  may  be 
arranged  on  shelves,  or  in  appropriate  niches,  where  they  can  at 


FARM  BUILDINGS. 


339 


once  be  found,  and  will  not  be  exposed  to  theft.  Here,  too,  the 
various  farming  tools  may  be  repaired,  which  can  be  anticipated 
and  done  in  those  leisure  intervals  which  often  occur.  Ample 
shed  room  for  every  vehicle  and  implement  alout  the  farm,  should 
not  be  wanting.  Their  preservation  will  amply  repay  the  cost 
of  such  slight  structures  as  may  be  required  to  house  them.  A 
wagon,  plow,  or  any  wooden  implement,  will  wear  out  sooner  by 
exposure  to  all  weathers  without  use,  than  by  careful  usage  with 
proper  protection. 

A  HORSE  POWER,  either  stationary  or  movable,  can  be  made 
to  contribute  greatly  to  the  economy  of  farming  operations,  where 
there  is  much  grain  to  thresh,  or  straw,  hay,  or  cornstalks  to  cut. 
With  the  aid  of  this,  some  of  the  portable  mills  may  crush  and 
grind  much  of  the  grain  required  for  feeding.  Even  the  water 
may  be  pumpe'd  by  it  into  large  troughs  for  the  use  of  cattle,  and 
all  the  fuel  sawed,  thereby  saving  more  expensive  labor. 

A  STEAMING  APPARATUS. 

"Where  there  are  many  swine  to  fatten,  or  grain  is  to  be  fed, 
this  is  at  all  times  an  economical  appendage  to  the  farm.    It  has 
been  shown,  from  several  experiments,  that,  except  in  roots,  for 
all  animals,  excepting  store  sheep,  and,  perhaps,  even  they  may 
be  excepted,  grain  or  meal  is  better  for  feeding  when  cooked. 
Food  must  be  broken  up  before  the  various  animal  organs  can 
appropriate  it  to  nutrition;  and  whatever  is  done  towards  effect- 
ing this  object,  before  it  enters  the  stomach,  diminishes  the 
necessity  for  the  expenditure  of  vital  force  in  accomphshing  it, 
and  thereby  enables  the  animal  to  thrive  more  rapidly,  and  do 
more  labor,  on  a  given  amount.    For  this  reason,  we  apprehend, 
there  may  have  been  some  errors  undetected  in  the  experiments 
in  feeding  sheep  and  cattle  with  raw  and  cooked  roots,  which 
results  in  placing  them  apparently  on  a  par  as  to  their  value  for 
this  purpose.    The  crushing  or  grinding  of  the  grain  insures  more 
perfect  mastication,  and  is  performed  by  machinery  at  much  less 
expense,  than  by  the  animals  consuming  it.    The  steaming  or 


340  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 

boiling  is  the  final  step  towards  its  easy  and  profitable  assimila- 
tion in  the  animal  economy.  With  a  capacious  steaming-box  for 
the  reception  of  the  food/the  roots  and  meal,  and  even  cut  hay, 
straw  and  stalks,  may  be  thrown  in  together,  and  all  will  thus  be 
most  efi'ectually  prepared  for  nourishment.  There  is  another 
advantage  derivable  from  this  practice.  The  food  might  at  all 
times  be  given  at  the  temperature  of  the  animal  system,  about 
98°  Fahrenheit,  and  the  animal  heat  expended  in  warming  the  cold 
and  sometimes  frozen  food,  would  be  avoided. 

The  steaming  apparatus  is  variously  constructed.    We  have 
used  one  consisting  of  a  circular  boiler  five  and  a  half  feet  long 
by  twenty  inches  diameter,  made  of  boiler  iron,  and  laid  length- 
wise on  a  brick  arch.    The  fire  is  placed  underneath,  and  passes 
through  the  whole  length  and  over  one  end,  then  returns  in 
contact  with  the  boiler  through  side  flues,  or  pockets,  where  it 
entered  the  chimney.    This  gives  an  exposure  to  the  flame  and 
heated  air  of  about  ten  feet.    The  upper  part  is  coated  with 
brick  and  mortar,  to  retain  the  heat,  and  three  small  test  cocks 
are  apphed  at  the  bottom,  middle  and  upper  edge  of  the  exposed 
end,  to  show  the  quantity  of  water  in  it;  and  two  large  stop 
cocks  on  the  upper  side,  for  receiving  the  water  and  dehvering 
the  steam,  completes  the  boiler.    The  steaming  box  is  oblong, 
seven  or  eight  feet  in  length,  by  four  feet  in  depth  and  width, 
capable  of  holding  sixty  or  seventy  bushels,  made  of  plank 
grooved  together,  and  clamped  and  keyed  with  four  sets  of  oak 
joist.     "We  also  used  a  large  circular  tub,  strongly  bound  by 
wagon  tire,  and  keyed,  and  holding  about  twenty -five  bushels. 
The  covering  of  both  must  be  fastened  securely,  but  a  safety 
valve  is  allowed  for  the  escape  of  steam,  which  is  simply  a  one 
and  a  half  inch  auger  hole.    Into  these  the  steam  is  conveyed 
from  the  boiler  by  a  copper  tube,  attached  to  the  steam  delivery 
cock,  for  a  short  distance,  when  it  is  continued  into  the  bottom  of 
the  box  and  tub  by  a  lead  pipe,  on  account  of  its  flexibility,  and 
to  avoid  injury  to  the  food  from  the  corrosion  of  the  copper.  It 
is  necessary  to  have  the  end  of  the  pipe  in  the  steaming  box 


FARM  BUILDINGS. 


341 


properly  guarded  by  a  metal  strainer,  to  prevent  its  clogging  from 
the  contents  of  the  box.  "We  find  no  difficulty  in  cooking  fifteen 
bushels  of  unground  Indian  corn,  in  the  tub,  in  the  course  of 
three  or  four  hours,  and  with,  small  expense  of  fuel.  Fifty  bushels 
of  roots  could  be  perfectly  cooked  in  the  box,  in  the  same  time. 
For  swine,  fattening  cattle  and  sheep,  milk  cows  and  working 
.  horses,  and  perhaps  oxen,  we  do  not  doubt  a  large  amount  of 
food  may  be  saved  by  the  use  of  such  or  a  similar  cooking  appa- 
ratus. The  box  may  be  enlarged  to  treble  the  capacity  of  the 
foregoing,  without  prejudicing  the  operation,  and  even  with  a 
boiler  of  the  same  dimensions,  but  it  would  take  a  longer  time  to 
effect  the  object.  If  the  boiler  were  increased  in  proportion  to 
the  box,  the  cooking  process  would,  of  course,  be  accomplished 
in  the  same  time. 

The  materials  for  farm  huildings  we  have  assumed  to  be  of 
wood,  from  the  abundance  and  cheapness  of  this  material,  gener- 
ally, in  the  United  States.  Yet  we  always  prefer,  when  not  too 
expensive,  or  where  the  capital  could  be  spared,  that  brick  or 
stone  should  take  their  place.  They  are  more  durable,  are  less 
exposed  to  fire,  and  they  sustain  a  more  equable  temperature  in 
the  extremes  of  the  seasons.  Barns  and  sheds  cannot,  like 
houses,  be  conveniently  made  rat-proof,  but  they  may  be  so 
constructed  as  to  afford  them  few  hiding  places,  where  they  will 
be  out  of  the  reach  of  cats  and  terrier  dogs,  which  are  always 
indispensable  around  infested  premises.  These  and  an  occasional 
dose  of  arsenic,  carefully  and  variously  disguised,  will  keep  their 
numbers  within  reasonable  bounds.  If  poison  be  given,  it  would 
be  well  to  shut  up  the  cats  and  terriers  for  three  or  four  days, 
until  the  object  is  effected,  or  they,  too,  might  partake  of  it. 

LIGHTNING  RODS. 

In  the  hot,  dry  weather  of  our  American  summers,  thunder 
showers  are  frequent,  and  often  destructive  to  buildings.  This 
danger  is  much  increased  for  such  barns  as  have  just  received 
their  annual  stores  of  newly  cut  hay  and  grain.    The  humid 


342 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


gases  driven  off  by  the  heating  and  sweating  process,  which 
immediately  follows  their  accumulation  in  closely  packed  masses, 
offers  a  strong  attraction  to  electricity,  just  at  the  time  when  it  is 
most  abundant.  It  is  then  an  object  of  peculiar  importance  to 
the  farmer  to  guard  his  buildings  with  properly  constructed  light- 
ning rods,  and  they  are  a  cheap  mode  of  insurance  against  fire 
from  this  cause,  as  the  expense  is  trifling  and  the  security  great. 

It  is  a  principle  of  general  application,  that  a  rod  will  protect 
an  object  at  twice  the  distance  of  its  height,  above  any  given 
point,  in  a  line  perpendicular  to  its  upper  termination.  Thus,  a 
rod  attached  to  one  side  of  a  chimney  four  feet  diameter,  must 
have  its  upper  point  two  feet  above  the  chimney  to  protect  it. 
The  height  above  the  ridge  must  be  at  least  one-half  the  greatest 
horizontal  distance  of  the  ridge  from  the  perpendicular  rod. 

Materials  and  Manner  of  Construction. — The  rod  may  be 
constructed  of  soft,  round  or  square  iron,  the  latter  being  preferable, 
in  pieces  of  convenient  length,  and  of  not  less  than  three-fourths 
of  an  inch  in  diameter.  They  should  not  be  hooked  into  each 
other,  but  attached  either  by  screwing  the  ends  together,  or 
forming  a  point  and  socket  to  be  fastened  by  a  rivet,  so  that  the 
rod,  when  complete,  will  appear  as  one  continuous  surface  of  equal 
size  throughout.  If  a  square  rod  be  used,  it  will  attract  the 
efectricity  through  its  entire  length,  if  the  corners  be  notched'  ' 
with  a  single,  downward  stroke  of  a  sharp  cold  chisel^  at  intervals 
of  two  or  three  inches.  Each  of  these  will  thus  become  a  point 
to  attract  and  conduct  the  electricity  to  the  earth.  A  bundle  of 
wires,  thick  ribbons,  or  tubes  of  metal,  would  be  much  better 
conductors  than  an  equal  quantity  of  matter  in  the  sohd,  round, 
or  square  rods,  as  the  conducting  power  of  bodies  is  in  the  ratio 
of  their  surface.  No  part  of  the  rod  should  be  painted,  as  its 
efficiency  thereby  is  greatly  impaired.  The  upper  extremity  may 
consist  of  one,  two,  or  more  finely  drawn  points,  which  should  be 
of  copper,  silver,  or  iron,  well  gilded,  to  prevent  rusting.  The 
lower  part  of  the  rod,  at  the  surface  of  the  ground,  should  term- 
inate in  two  or  three  flattened,  diverging  branches,  leading  several 


FARM  BUILDINGS.  343 

feet  outwardly  from  the  building,  and  buried  to  the  depth  of 
perpetual  moisture,  in  a  bed  of  charcoal.  Both  the  charcoal  and 
moisture  are  good  conductors,  and  will  insure  the  passage  of  the 
electricity  into  the  ground,  and  away  from  the  premises.  The 
rod  may  be  fastened  to  the  building  by  glass  or  well  seasoned 
wood,  boiled  in  linseed  oil,  then  well  baked  and  covered  with 
several  coats  of  copal  varnish. 

After  all,  there  are  different  opinions  about  the  value  of  light- 
ning rods.  Some  consider  them  of  no  account  whatever.  Yery 
much  of  their  utility  depends  on  the  size  and  the  manner  in 
which  they  are  constructed.  The  Httle,  light  things  that  are 
commonly  peddled  over  the  country  are  not  worth  the  trouble  of 
putting  them  up. 

ICE-HOUSES,  HEN-HOUSES,  PIG-STYES,  ETC., 

May  be  multiphed  almost  indefinitely  as  the  wants  and  pleasure 
of  the  farmer  may  demand.  They  are,  indeed,  all  necessary  in 
a  complete  farm  establishment,  and  their  modes  of  construction 
so  varied,  or  fanciful,  that  no  written  description  will  suit  every 
one  alike.  Our  agricultural  periodicals,  and  various  books  writ- 
ten expressly  on  such  subjects,  give  many  different  plans — some 
of  them  not  so  practical  as  others,  we  admit — but  most  of  them 
convenient  and  useful.  A  complete  farm  estabhshment,  in  its 
buildings,  usually  makes  a  little  village  of  itself  All  the  struc- 
tures should  be  so  placed  as  to  be  convenient  of  access  to  the 
main  dwelling,  and  the  laborers'  cottages,  whenever  erected, 
handy  to  the  every  day  work  of  the  concern. 

The  question  maybe  discussed  whether  the  various  accommoda- 
tions for  stock,  feeding,  etc.,  may  not  be  better  under  one  roof. 

The  proper  arrangement  of  all  these  is  a  matter  of  study,  and 
they  should  be  dehberately  planned  and  laid  out,  as  without  such 
precaution,  much,  even  a  life  time,  inconvenience  and  expense 
will  be  entailed  on  the  occupants  for  want  of  a  proper  forethought 
in  their  structures  and  arrangements.  The  question  of  insurance 
against  fire  is  to  be  considered. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

The  principal  'domestic  animals  reared  for  economical  purposes 
in  the  United  States  are  horned,  or  neat  cattle,  the  horse,  the 
mule,  sheep  and  swine.  A  few  asses  are  bred,  but  for  no  other 
object  than  to  keep  up  the  supply  of  jacks,  for  propagating  mules. 
"We  have,  also,  goats,  rabbits,  and  the  house  domestics,  the  dog 
and  cat;  the  two  former  in  large  and  growing  numbers,  but  both 
the  latter  much  beyond  our  legitimate  wants.  There  have  been, 
within  late  years,  considerable  numbers  of  the  Cashmere  and 
Angora  goat  imported,  which,  in  their  increase  and  dissemina- 
tion, will  test  their  value  for  increasing  our  agricultural  resources. 
"We  shall  confine  ourselves  to  some  general  considerations 
connected  with  the  first  mentioned  and  most  important  of  our 
domestic  animals.* 

The  purpose  for  which  animals  are  required^  is  first  of  conse- 
quence to  be  determined,  before  selecting  such  as  may  be  neces- 
sary either  for  breeding  or  use.  Throughout  the  North-eastern 
States,  cows  for  the  dairy,  oxen  for  the  yoke,  and  beef  for  the 
butcher,  are  wanted.  In  much  of  the  West  and  South,  beef 
alone  is  the  principal  object,  while  the  products  of  the  dairy,  until 
recently,  have  been  considered  of  less  importance  as  commodity 
for  distant  markets,  and  the  work  of  the  ox  is  seldom  relied  on, 
except  for  occasional  drudgery.    Sheep  may  be  wanted  almost 

*  The  subject  of  breeding  and  management  of  farm  stock  is  of  such  importance, 
that,  for  more  particular  information  than  our  limited  space  will  permit,  we  must 
refer  the  reader  to  the  several  treatises  extant,  comprising  their  histories,  modes  of 
breeding,  and  general  management.  A  full  dissertation  on  farm  stock  would  require 
several  volumes. 


DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 


345 


exclusively  for  the  fleece,  or  for  the  fleece  and  heavy  mutton,  or, 
in  the  neighborhood  of  markets,  for  large,  early  lambs.  The 
pastures  and  winter  food,  climate  and  other  conditions,  present 
additional  circumstances,  which  should  be  well  considered  before 
determining  on  the  particular  breed,  either  of  cattle  or  sheep,  that 
will  best  promote  the  interest  of  the  farmer.  The  kind  of  work 
for  which  the  horse  may  be  wanted,  whether  as  a  roadster,  for 
the  saddle,  as  a  heavy  team  horse,  or  the  horse  of  all  work,  must 
be  first  decided,  before  selecting  the  form  or  character  of  the 
animal.  The  range  of  pig  excellence  is  more  circumscribed,  as 
it  is  only  necessary  to  breed  such  as  will  yield  the  greatest  amount 
of  valuable  carcass,  within  the  shortest  time,  and  with  the  least 
expense. 

PRINCIPLES  OP  BREEDING. 

All  breeding  is  founded  on  the  principle  that  like  begets  like. 
This  is,  however,  liable  to  some  exceptions,  and  is  much  more 
generally  true  when  hreeding  down  than  when  hreeding  up.  If 
two  animals  which  can  never  be  exactly  similar  in  all  respects,  are 
requisite  to  the  perpetuation  of  the  species,  it  necessarily  results 
that  the  progeny  must  differ  in  a  more  or  less  degree  from  each 
parent.  With  wild  animals  and  such  of  the  domestic  as  are 
allowed  to  propagate  without  the  interference  of  art,  and  whose 
habits,  treatment  and  food  are  nearly  similar  to  their  natural  con- 
dition, the  change  through  successive  generations  is  scarcely 
perceptible.  It  is  only  when  we  attempt  to  improve  their  good 
qualities,  that  it  is  essential  carefully  to  determine,  and  rigidly  to 
apply,  what  are  adopted  as  the  present  scientific  principles  of 
breeding.  We  cannot  believe  that  we  have  penetrated  beyond 
the  mere  threshold  of  the  art.  Unless,  then,  we  launch  into 
experiments,  which  are  necessarily  attended  with  uncertainty,  our 
duty  will  be  to  take  for  our  guide  the  most  successful  practice  of 
modern  times,  until  further  discoveries  enable  us  to  modify  or  add 
to  such  as  are  already  known  and  adopted.  We  may  lay  down, 
then,  as  the  present  rules  for  this  art, 

1st.    That  the  animals  selected  for  breed  should  unite  in  them 
selves  all  the  good  qualities  we  wish  to  perpetuate  in  the  offspring. 
15* 


346 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


2d.  These  qualities,  technically  called  ^om^5,  should  be  in-bred 
in  the  animals  as  far  as  practicable,  by  a  long  line  of  descent  from 
parents  similarly  constituted.  The  necessity  for  this  rule  is  evi- 
dent from  the  fact,  that  in  mixing  different  species,  and  especially 
mongrels,  with  a  long  established  breed,  the  latter  will  most 
strongly  stamp  the  issue  with  its  own  pecuharities.  This  is 
forcibly  illustrated  in  the  case  of  the  foreign  cattle  of  ancient 
races,  whose  color,  form  and  characteristics  are  strikingly  perpet- 
uated, sometimes  to  the  sixth  or  even  a  later  generation.  So  far 
is  this  principle  carried  by  many  experienced  breeders,  that  they 
will  use  an  animal  of  indifferent  external  appearance,  but  of 
approved  descent,  (bloody)  in  preference  to  a  decidedly  superior 
one,  whose  pedigree  is  imperfect. 

3d.  All  the  conditions  of  soil,  situation,  climate,  treatment, 
and  food,  should  be  favorable  to  the  object  sought. 

4th.  Perfect  health,  and  sound  constitution  in  the  breeding 
animals,  and  freedom  from  blemish,  either  inherent  or  chronic. 

5th.  As  a  general  rule,  the  female  should  be  relatively  larger 
than  the  male.  This  gives  ample  room  for  the  perfect  develop- 
ment of  the  foetus,  easy  parturition,  and  a  large  supply  of  milk 
for  the  offspring,  at  a  period  in  its  existence  when  food  has  a 
greater  influence  in  perfecting  character  and  form  than  at  any 
subsequent  time. 

6th.  Exceptions  to  this  rule  may  be  made,  when  greater  size 
is  required  than  can  be  obtained  from  the  female,  and  especially 
when  more  vigor  and  hardiness  of  constitution  are  desirable. 
For  this  purpose,  strong  masculine  development  in  the  sire  is 
proper,  and,  if  otherwise  unattainable,  something  of  coarseness 
may  be  admitted,  as  this  may  be  afterwards  corrected;  but  nothing 
will  atone  for  want  of  constitution  and  strength. 

7th.  Pairing  should  be  with  a  strict  reference  to  correcting 
the  imperfections  of  one  animal  by  a  corresponding  excellence  in 
the  other. 

8th.  Breeding  in-and-in,  or  propagating  from  animals  nearly 
allied,  may  be  tolerated  under  certain  circumstances.  When  the 
animal  possesses  much  stamina  and  pecuhar  merit,  which  it  is 


DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 


347 


desired  to  perpetuate  in  the  breed,  it  may  be  done  either  in  the 
ascending  or  descending  Hne,  as  in  breeding  the  son  to  the  parent, 
or  the  parent  to  his  own  progeny.  This  has  been  practiced  with 
decided  advantage,  and  in  some  cases  has  even  been  continued 
successively  as  low  as  the  sixth  generation. 

9th.  Yet,  with  inexperienced  breeders  it  is  usually  better  to 
avoid  close  relationship,  by  the  selection  of  equally  meritorious 
stock-getters  ,of  the  same  breed,  from  other  sources,  unless  the 
breeder  be  a  perfect  master  of  the  art  of  close  breeding.  It  re- 
quires the  soundest  judgment  and  long  experience  to  long  follow 
in-and-in  breeding  with  entire  success. 

1 0th.  "Wholesome,  nutritious  food,  at  all  times  sufficient  to  keep 
the  animals  steadily  advancing,  should  be  provided,  but  they 
should  never  be  allowed  to  get  fat.  Of  the  two  evils,  starving  is 
preferable  to  surfeit.  Careful  treatment  and  the  -  absence  of 
disease  must  be  always  fully  considered. 

11th.  Animals  should  never  be  allowed  to  breed  either  too 
early  or  too  late  in  life.  These  periods  cannot  be  arbitrarily  laid 
down,  but  must  depend  on  their  time  of  maturity,  the  longevity 
of  the  breed,  and  the  stamina  of  the  individual. 

12th.  No  violent  cross  or  mixing  of  distinct  breeds  should 
ever  be  admitted  for  the  purpose  of  perpetuation,  as  of  cattle  of 
diverse  sizes;  horses  of  unlike  characters:  the  merino  and  long 
wools,  or  even  the  long  or  short  and  the  middle  wooled  sheep. 
For  carcass  and  constitution,  the  last  named  crosses  are  unexcep- 
tionable; and  it  is  a  practice  common  in  this  country,  and  well 
enough,  where  the  whole  produce  is  early  destined  for  the  sham- 
bles. But  when  the  progeny  are  designed  for  breeders,  the  prac^ 
tice  tends  to  a  total  uncertainty  in  fixed  character,  and  quality. 

GENERAL  FORM  AND  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 

Within  certain  limits,  these  may  be  reduced  to  a  common 
standard.  All  animals  should  have  a  good  head,  well  set  up ;  a 
clean,  fine  muzzle,  and  a  bright,  clear  and  full,  yet  perfectly  placid 
eye.  With  the  exception  of  the  dog  and  cat,  whose  original 
nature  is  ferocity,  and  whose  whole  hfe,  unless  diverted  from  their 


348 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


natural  instincts,  is  plunder  and  prey;  and  the  race  horse,  which 
is  required  to  take  the  purse,  at  any  hazard  of  life  or  hmb  to  the 
groom;  a  mild,  quiet  eye  is  indispensable  to  the  profitable  use  of 
the  domestic  brute.  The  neck  should  be  well  formed,  not  too 
long,  tapering  to  its  junction  with  the  head,  and  gradually  enlarg- 
ing to  a  firm,  well  expanded  attachment  to  the  back,  shoulders 
and  breast.  The  back  or  chine  should  be  short,  straight  and 
broad;  the  ribs  springing  out  from  the  backbone  nearly  at  right 
angles,  giving  a  rounded  appearance  to  the  carcass,  and  reaching 
well  behind  to  a  close  proximity  to  the  hip ;  tail  well  set  on,  and  full 
at  its  junction  with  the  body,  yet  gradually  tapering  to  fineness; 
thighs,  fore-arms  and  crop  well  developed;  projecting  breast  or 
brisket;  the  fore-legs  straight,  and  hind  ones  properly  bent, 
strong  and  full  where  attached  to  the  carcass,  but  small  and  taper- 
ing below;  good  and  sound  joints;  dense,  strong  bones,  but  not 
large ;  plenty  of  fine  muscle  in  the  right  places ;  and  hair  or  wool 
fine  and  soft.  The  chest  in  all  animals  should  be  full,  for  it  will 
be  invariably  found  that  only  such  will  do  the  most  work,  or 
fatten  easiest  on  the  least  food. 

The  Lungs. — From  the  above  principle,  founded  on  long 
experience  and  observation,  Cline  inferred,  and  he  has  laid  it 
down  as  an  incontrovertible  position,  that  the  lungs  should  always 
be  large;  and  Youatt  expresses  the  same  opinion.  This  is 
undoubtedly  correct  as  to  working  beasts,  the  horse  and  the  ox, 
which  require  full  and  free  respiration,  to  enable  them  to  sustain 
great  muscular  efforts.  But  later  physiologists,  Playfair  and  others, 
perhaps  from  closer  and  more  accurate  observation,  have  assumed 
that  the  fattening  propensity  is  in  the  ratio  of  the  smallness  of 
the  lungs.  Earl  Spencer  has  observed  that  this  is  fully  shown 
in  the  pig,  the  sheep,  the  ox,  and  the  horse,  whose  aptitude  to 
fatten  and  smallness  of  lungs,  are  in  the  order  enumerated.  This 
position  is  further  illustrated  by  the  different  breeds  of  the  same 
classes  of  animals.  The  Leicester  sheep  have  smaller  lungs  than 
the  South  Down;  and  it  was  found  in  an  experiment  made  on 
Lord  Ducie's  example  farm,  that  a  number  of  the  former,  on  a 
given  quJfntity  of  food^  and  in  the  same  time,  reached  twenty- 


DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 


349 


eight  pounds  a  quarter,  while  the  South  Downs,  with  a  greater 
consumption  of  food,  attained,  in  the  same  period,  onlj  eighteen 
pounds.  The  Chinese  pigs  have  much  smaller  lungs  than  the 
Irish,  and  the  former  will  fatten  to  a  given  weight  on  a  much  less 
quantity  of  food  than  the  latter.  The  principle  would  seem  to 
be  corroborated  by  the  fact,  that  animals  generally  fatten  faster 
in  proportion  to  the  quantity  of  food  they  consume,  as  they 
advance  towards  a  certain  stage  of  maturity;  during  all  which 
time,  the  secretion  of  internal  fat  is  gradually  compressing  the 
size,  by  reducing  the  room  for  the  action  of  the  lungs.  Hence, 
the  advantage  of  carrying  the  fattening  beast  to  an  advanced 
point,  by  which  not  only  the  quality  of  carcass  is  improved,  but 
the  quantity  is  relatively  greater  for  the  amount  of  food  consumed. 
These  two  propositions  appear  to  be  at  variance,  and  the  exact 
truth  may  lie  with  neither.  If  the  fuller  development  of  the 
chest,  which  we  esteem  a  point  of  great  excellence  in  the  animal, 
promote  larger  lungs,  we  decidedly  incline  to  the  latter.  These 
views  are  intimately  connected  and  fully  correspond  with  the 
principles  of 

RESPIRATION  IN  ANIMALS. 

From  careful  experiments,  it  has  been  found  that  all  animals 
daily  consume  a  much  larger  quantity  of  food  than  the  aggregate 
of  what  may  have  been  retained  in  the  system,  added  to  what 
has  been  expelled  in  the  foeces  and  urine,  and  what  has  escaped 
by  perspiration.  Boussingault,  who  combines  the  characteristics 
of  an  ingenious  chemist,  a  vigilant  observer  and  practical  agri- 
culturist, made  an  experiment  with  a  "milk  cow  and  a  full  grown 
horse,  which  were  placed  in  stalls  so  contrived  that  the  droppings 
and  the  urine  could  be  collected  without  loss.  Before  being  made 
the  subject  of  experiment,  the  animals  were  ballasted  or  fed  for 
a  month  with  the  same  ration  that  was  furnished  to  them  during 
the  three*  days  and  three  nights  which  they  passed  in  the  experi- 
mental stalls.  During  the  month,  the  weight  of  the  animals  did 
not  vary  sensibly;  a  circumstance  which  happily  enables  us  to 
assume  that  neither  did  the  weight  vary  during  the  seventy-two 
hours  when  they  were  under  especial  observation. 


350 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


*'TliQ  COW  was  foddered  with  after-math,  hay,  and  potatoes; 
the  horse  with  the  same  hay,  and  oats.  The  quantities  of  forage 
were  accurately  weighed,  and  their  precise  degree  of  moistness 
and  their  composition  were  determined  from  average  samples. 
The  water  drank  was  measured,  its  sahne  and  earthy  constituents 
having  been  previously  ascertained.  The  excrementitious  mat- 
ters passed  were  of  course  collected  with  the  greatest  care ;  the 
excrements,  the  urine,  and  the  milk  were  weighed,  and  the  con- 
stitution of  the  whole  estimated  from  elementary  analysis  of 
average  specimens  of  each.  The  results  of  the  two  experiments 
are  given  in  the  following  tables. 

*^The  oxygen  and  hydrogen  that  are  not  accounted  for  in  the 
sum  of  the  products,  have  not  disappeared  in  the  precise  proper 
tions  requisite  to  form  water;  the  excess  of  hydrogen  amounts  to 
as  many  as  from  thirteen  to  fifteen  penny-weights.  It  is  proba- 
ble that  this  hydrogen  of  the  food  became  changed  into  water 
by  combining,  during  respiration,  with  the  oxygen  of  the  air." 
Food  Consumed  by  the  Horse  in  24  hours. 


Forage. 


Hay,  . 
Oats, 
Water, 
Total, 


Weight  in  Weight  in 

the  wet  the  dry 

state.  state, 

lbs.  lbs.  oz. 

.20  17  4 

6  5  2 

.     43  .. 

22  G 


Carbon, 
lbs.  oz. 

7  11 
2  7 


Salts  and 
Earths. 


Elementary  matter  in  the  food. 


Hydrogen.    Oxygen.  Azote. 
Ib.oz.  dwt.    lb.  oz.dwt.   lb.  oz.  dwt.    lb.  oz.dwt. 

0  10  7  688  032  16  14 
0   3  18     1  10  14    0  1   7     0   2  10 

0  0  8 


69 


10   6      125     872     0  4. 


1   9  12 


Products  Voided  by  the  Horse  in  24  hours. 

Elementary  matter  in  the  products. 
Hydrogen.     Oxygen.  Azote. 


Salts  and 
Earths. 


Weight  in  Weight  in 

Products.        the  wet  the  dry 

state.  state.  Carbon, 

lb  oz  dwt.  lb. oz.dwt.  Ib.oz.  dwt.  lb. oz.dwt.  lb. oz.dwt.    Ib.oz.  dwt.   lb. oz.dwt. 

3   6  15  9   9  14     0   3  10  0   0   7  0   1   2     0   1   4  - 

38   2  2  9   5   6     3   7  17  0   5  15  3  6  14    0   2  10 


Urine,  .  . 
Excrements, 

Total,  . 
Total  mat'r 


71   8  17   10   3   0     3  11   7     0   6  2 
off^'d'^}^^   00   22  60   10   60  125 

6   6  13 


3  7  16 
8  7  2 


0  3  14 
0  4  9 


0  3  10 

1  6  10 

1  10  0 
1   9  12 


Difference, 


27   3   3  12  3  0 


083    4  11   6     00  15  008 


Water  Consumed  by  the  Horse 
in  24  hours, 

lbs.  oz. 

With  the  hay,  2  3 

With  the  oats,   0  14 

Taken  as  drink,  35  3 


Water  Voided  by  the  Horse 
in  24  hours, 

lbs.  oz. 

With  the  urine,  2  6 

With  the  excrements,   ....     23  8 


Total  consumed,  38  4 

Water  exhaled  by  pulmonary  and  cutaneous  transpiration,  12  6 


Total  voided,  25  14 

Water  consumed,  38  4 


DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 


351 


Fodder. 


Food  Consumed  hy  the  Cow  in  24  hours. 

Elementary  matter  of  the  food. 


Potatoes,  . 
After-math  hay,  20  1 
Water,  .   .   .  160  0 

Total,  . 


Weight  in 
the  wet 
state, 
lb.  oz.  dwt. 

40  2  5 
2 
0 


Weight  in 
the  dry 
state, 
lb.  oz.  dwt. 

11  2  1 
16  11  0 


Carbon, 
lb.  oz.  dwt. 

4  11  2 
•?  11  11 


Hydrogen, 
lb.  oz.  dwt. 

0   7  15 

0  11 


3  7 


1   1   12  10  13  IT 


Salts  and 
Earths, 
lb  oz.  dwt. 

0  6  13 
18  6 
..  ..         0   1  12 

10  9  14    0  6   9     2  4  11 


Oxygen, 
lb.  oz.  dwt. 

4  10  17 

5  10  17 


Azote, 
lb.  oz.  dwt. 

0  1  12 
0  4  17 


Weight  in 
the  wet 
state, 
lb.  oz.  dwt. 

76  1  9 

21  11  12 

22  10  10 
120  11  11 

"  mat.food,220  3  7 
Difference, 


Products. 


Excrements, 
Urine,  .  . 
Milk,  .   .  . 

Total,  . 


Products  Voided  hy  the  Cow  in  24  hours. 

Elementary  matter  in  the  products. 


Weight  in 
the  dry 
state, 
lb.  oz.  dwt. 

10  8  12 

2  6  17 

3  10 


16 

28 


Carbon, 
lb.  oz.  dwt. 

4  7  0 
0  8  7 
18  3 

6  11  10 
12  10  13 


Hydrogen, 
lb.  oz.  dwt. 

0  6  13 
0  0  16 
0   3  3 

0  10  12 

1  7  2 


Oxygen, 
lb.  oz.  dwt. 

4  0  9 
0  8  3 
0  10  6 


Azote, 
lb.  oz.dwt. 

0  2  19 
0  13 
0  19 


Salts  and 
Earths, 
lb.  oz.  dwt. 

13  8 
10  6 
0   1  16 


5 

10 


6  18 
9  14 


5  11 

6  9 


5  10 
4  11 


99  3  16  11   8  12     5  11   3     0  8  10    5   2  16     0  0  18    0  0  19 


Water  Consumed  hy  the  Cow 
in  24  hours. 

lbs.  oz. 

With  the  potatoes,  23  12 

With  the  hay,   2  9 

Taken  us  drink,  .......  132  0 


Total  consumed,  158  5 


Water  Voided  hy  the  Cow 
in  24  hours. 

lbs.  oz. 

With  the  excrements,     .   .   .   .   53  10 

With  the  urine,   15  14 

With  the  milk,  .  16  3 

Total  voided,   85  11 

Water  consumed,  .....      158  5 


Water  passed  off  by  pulmonary  and  cutaneous  transpiration,   72  10 

The  forgoing  tables  must  be  taken  as  comparative,  depending 
on  the  breeds,  sizes,  forms,  and  styles  of  the  animals  fed,  for  the 
proportion  of  food  they  consume. 

In  the  tables,  we  perceive  a  large  loss  of  water,  carbon,  hydro- 
gen, etc.  Nearly  all  this  loss  of  carbon  and  hydrogen  escaped 
by  respiration,  while  most  of  the  water,  oxygen,  nitrogen  and 
salts,  passed  off  in  perspiration.  In  further  illustration  of  the 
subject  of  respiration,  Liebig  says,  *'from  the  accurate  determina- 
tion of  the  quantity  of  carbon  daily  taken  into  the  system  in  the 
food,  as  well  as  of  that  proportion  of  it  which  passes  out  of  the 
body  in  the  foeces  and  urine,  unlurned^  that  is,  in  some  form  un- 
combined  with  oxygen,  it  appears  that  an  adult,  taking  moderate 
exercise,  consumes  13.9  ounces  of  carbon  daily."  The  foregoing 
are  facts  in  the  animal  economy,  capable  of  vast  practical  bear- 
ing in  the  management  of  our  domestic  animals.    But  before 


352 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


following  out  these  principles  to  their  application,  let  us  briefly 
examine 

THE  EFFECTS  OF  RESPIRATION. 

We  have  seen  from  the  experiment  of  Boussingault,  that  there 
m  a  loss  of  six  pounds  and  six  ounces  of  carbon,  and  eight 
ounces  of  hydrogen  in  the  food  of  the  horse,  and  something  less 
in  that  of  the  cow,  every  twenty-four  hours,  which  has  not  been 
left  in  the  system,  nor  has  it  escaped  by  the  evacuations.  What 
has  become  of  so  large  an  amount  of  solid  matter?  It  has  escaped 
through  the  lungs  and  been  converted  into  air.  The  carbon  and 
hydrogen  of  the  food  have  undergone  those  various  transformations, . 
which  are  peculiar  to  the  animal  economy,  digestion,  assimilation, 
etc.,  which  it  is  not  necessary,  nor  will  our  limits  permit  us  here 
to  explain;  and  they  appear  at  last  in  the  veinous  blood,  which 
in  the  course  of  its  circulation,  is  brought  into  the  cells  of  the 
lungs.  The  air  inhaled,  is  sent  through  every  part  of  their  innu- 
merable meshes,  and  is  there  separated  from  the  blood,  only  by 
the  delicate  tissues  or  membranes  which  enclose  it.  A  portion 
of  the  carbon  and  hydrogen  escape  from  the  blood  into  the  air 
cells,  and  at  the  instant  of  their  contact  with  the  air,  they  effect 
a  chemical  union  with  its  oxygen,  forming  carbonic  acid  and  the 
vapor  of  water,  which  is  then  expired,  and  a  fresh  supply  of 
oxygen  is  inhaled.  This  operation  is  again  repeated,  through 
every  successive  moment  of  the  animal  existence.  Besides  other 
purposes  which  it  is  probably  designed  to  subserve,  but  which 
have  hitherto  eluded  the  keenest  research  of  chemical  physiology, 
one  obvious  result  of  it  is,  the  elevation  of  the  temperature  of 
the  animal  system.  By  the  ever  operating  laws  of  nature,  this 
chemical  union  of  two  bodies  in  the  formation  of  a  third,  disen- 
gages latent  heat,  which  taking  place  in  contact  with  the  blood,  is 
by  it,  diffused  throughout  the  whole  frame.  The  effect  is  pre- 
cisely analogous  to  the  combustion  of  fuel,  oils,  etc.,  in  the  open 
air. 

Perspiration  is  the  counteracting  agent  which  modifies  this 
result,  and  prevents  the  injurious  effects  which,  under  exposure 


DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 


353 


to  great  external  heat,  would  insure  certain  destruction.  And 
this  too,  it  will  have  been  seen,  is  provided  at  the  expense  of  the 
animal  food.  "When  from  excessive  heat,  caused  hy  violent  exer- 
cise or  otherwise,  by  which  respiration  is  accelerated,  and  the 
animal  temperatiire  becomes  elevated,  the  papill89  of  the  skin 
pour  the  limpid  fluid  through  their  innumerable  ducts,  which  in 
its  conversion  into  vapor,  seize  upon  the  animal  heat  and  remove 
it  from  the  system,  producing  that  delicious  coolness  so  grateful 
to  the  laboring  man  and  beast  in  a  sultry  summer's  day.  These 
two  opposing  principles,  like  the  antagonistic  operations  of  the 
regulator  in  mechanics,  keep  up  a  perfect  balance  in  the  vital 
machine,  and  enable  the  entire  division  of  the  animal  creation, 
distinguished  as  warm  blooded,  including  man  and  the  brute,  all 
the  feathered  tribes,  the  whale,  the  seal,  the  walrus,  etc.,  to  main- 
tain an  equilibrium  of  temperature,  whether  under  the  equator  or 
the  poles,  on  the  peaks  of  Chimborazo,  the  burning  sands  of 
Zahara,  or  plunged  in  the  depths  of  the  Arctic  ocean. 

The  connection  between  the  size  of  the  lungs,  and  the  apti- 
tude of  animals  to  fatten,  will  be  more  apparent  from  the  fact, 
that  the  carbon  and  hydrogen  which  are  abstracted,  constitute 
two  of  the  only  three  elements  of  fat.  The  larger  size,  the  fuller 
play,  and  the  greater  activity  of  the  lungs,  by  exhausting  more 
of  the  materials  of  fat,  must  necessarily  diminish  its  formation  in 
the  animal  system;  unless  it  can  be  shown,  which  has  never  yet 
been  done,  that  the  removal  of  a  portion  of  the  fat-forming  prin- 
ciples accelerates  the  assimilation  of  the  remainder. 

The  food  which  supplies  respiration  in  the  herbiverous  animals, 
after  they  are  deprived  of  the  milk  which  furnishes  it  in  abund- 
ance, is  the  starch,  gum,  sugar,  vegetable  fats  and  oils,  which 
exist  in  vegetables,  grain  and  roots  which  they  consume ;  and  in 
certain  cases  where  there  is  a  deficiency  of  other  food,  it  is  spar- 
ingly furnished  in  woody  and  cellular  fibre.  All  these  substances 
constitute  the  principal  part  of  dry  vegetable  food,  and  are  made 
up  of  these  elements,  which  in  starch,  gum,  cane  sugar  and  cellu- 
lar fibre,  exists  in  precisely  the  same  proportions,  viz.:  44  per  cent. 


354 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


of  carbon,  6.2  of  hydrogen  and  49.8  of  oxygen.  Grape  sugar, 
woody  fibre,  and  vegetable  and  animal  fats  and  oils,  are  made  up 
of  the  same  elements,  but  in  different  proportions,  the  last  con- 
taining much  more  carbon  and  hydrogen  than  those  above  speci- 
fied. In  the  fattening  animals,  it  is  supposed  the  vegetable  fats 
and  oils  are  immediately  transferred  to  the  fat  cells,  undergoing 
only  such  slight  modification  as  perfectly  adapts  them  to  the  ani- 
mal economy,  while  respiration  is  supphed  by  the  other  enumerated 
vegetable  matters. 

If  these  last  are  taken  into  the  stomach  beyond  the  necessary 
demand  for  its  object,  they,  too,  are  converted  by  the  animal  func- 
tions into  fat,  and  are  stored  up  in  the  system  for  future  use. 
But  if  the  supply  of  the  latter  is  insufficient  for  respiration,  it 
first  appropriates  the  vegetable  fat  contained  in  the  food;  if  this 
is  deficient,  it  draws  on  the  accumulated  stores  of  animal  fat 
already  secreted  in  the  system,  and  when  these  two  are  exhausted, 
it  seizes  upon  what  is  contained  in  the  tissues  and  muscle.  "When 
the  animal  commences  drawing  upon  its  own  resources  for  the 
support  of  its  vital  functions,  deterioration  begins ;  and,  if  long 
continued,  great  emaciation  succeeds,  which  is  soon  followed  by 
starvation  and  death.  The  carniverous  animals  are  furnished 
with  their  respiratory  excretions  from  the  animal  fat  and  fibre 
which  exist  in  their  food,  and  which  the  herbivoras  had  previously 
abstracted  from  the  vegetable  creation. 

The  circumstances  which  augment  respiration  are  exercise,  cold 
and  an  abundant  supply  of  food.  Exercise,  besides  exhausting 
the  materials  of  fat,  produces  a  waste  of  fibre  and  tissue,  the 
muscular  and  nitrogenized  parts  of  the  animal  system ;  and  it  is 
obvious  from  the  foregoing  principles,  that  cold  requires  a  corres- 
ponding demand  for  carbon  and  hydrogen  to  keep  up  the  vital 
warmth.  The  consumption  of  food  to  the  fullest  extent  required 
for  invigorating  the  frame,  creates  a  desire  for  activity,  and  it 
insensibly  induces  full  respiration.  The  well-fed,  active  man 
unconsciously  draws  a  full,  strong  breath ;  while  the  abstemious 


DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 


355 


and  the  feeble  unwittingly  use  it  daintily,  as  if  it  were  a  choice 
commodity  not  to  be  lavishly  expended.    If  the  first  be  observed 
when  sleep  has  effectually  arrested  volition,  the  expanded  chest 
will  be  seen  heaving  with  the  long-drawn  sonorous  breath ;  while 
that  of  the  latter  will  exhibit  the  gentle  repose  of  the  infant  on 
its  mother's  breast.    The  difference  between  the  food  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  polar  and  equatorial  regions,  is  strikingly  illus- 
trative of  the  demands  both  for  breathing  and  perspiration.  The 
latter  are  almost  destitute  of  clothing,  and  subsist  on  their  light, 
juicy,  tropical  fruits,  which  contain  scarcely  twelve  per  cent,  of 
carbon,  yet  furnish  all  the  elements  for  abundant  respiration; 
the  latter  are  imbedded  in  furs,  and  devour  gallons  of  train  oil  ^ 
its  equivalent  of  fat,  which  contains  nearly  eighty  per  cent,  of 
carbon,  that  is  burnt  up  in  respiration  to  maintain  a  necessary 
warmth.    The  bear  retires  to  his  den  in  the  beginning  of  winter, 
loaded  with  fat,  which  he  has  accumulated  from  the  rich,  oily 
mast  abounding  in  the  woods  in  autumn.    There  he  Hes  for 
months,  snugly  coiled  and  perfectly  dormant;  the  thickness  of 
his  shaggy  coat,  his  dry  bed  of  leaves  and  well  protected  den 
effectually  guarding  him  from  cold,  which,  in  addition  to  his  want 
of  exercise,  draw  shghtly  upon  respiration  to  keep  up  the  vital 
heat.    "When  the  stores  of  carbon  and  hydrogen  contained  in  the 
fat  are  expended,  his  hunger  and  cold  compel  him  to  leave  his 
winter  quarters,  again  to  wander  in  pursuit  of  food.    Many  of 
the  swallow  tribes,  in  like  manner,  hybernate  in  large  hollow 
trees,  and  for  months  eke  out  a  torpid,  scarcely  perceptible  exist- 
ence, independent  of  food.    Activity  and  full  respiration,  on  the 
return  of  spring,  demand  a  support  which  is  furnished  in  the 
myriads  of  flies  they  daily  consume.    The  toad  and  frog  have 
repeatedly  been  found  in  a  torpid  state,  embedded  in  Hme-stones, 
sand-stones  and  the  breccias,  where  they  were  probably  impris 
oned  for  thousands  of  years  without  a  morsel  of  food;  yet  when 
exposed  to  the  warmth  of  the  vital  air  and  the  stimulus  of  its 
oxygen,  they  have  manifested  all  the  activity  of  their  species. 


356 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


This  they  are  enabled  to  sustain  only  by  an  enormous  consumption 
of  insects.  Dr.  Playfair  states,  that  in  an  experiment  made  by 
Lord  Ducie,  one  hundred  sheep  were  placed  in  a  shed,  and  eat 
twenty  pounds  of  Swedes  turnips,  each,  per  day;  and  another 
hundred  were  placed  in  the  open  air,  and  eat  twenty-five  pounds 
per  day ;  yet  the  former,  which  had  one-fifth  less  food,  weighed, 
after  a  few  weeks,  three  pounds  more  per  head  than  the  latter. 
He  then  fed  five  sheep  in  the  open  air,  between  the  twenty-first 
of  November  and  first  of  December.  They  consumed  ninety 
pounds  of  food  per  day,  the  temperature  being  at  forty^four 
degrees;  and,  at  the  end  of  this  time,  they  weighed  two  pounds 
less  than  when  first  exposed.  Five  sheep  were  then  placed  under 
a  shed,  and  allowed  to  run  about  in  a  temperature  of  forty -nine 
degrees.  At  first,  they  consumed  eighty-two  pounds  per  day; 
then  seventy  pounds,  and  at  the  end  of  the  time  they  had  gained 
twenty-three  pounds.  Again,  five  sheep  were  placed  under  a 
shed,  as  before,  and  not  allowed  to  take  any  exercise.  They  eat, 
at  first,  sixty-four  pounds  of  food  per  day ;  then  fifty-eight  pounds, 
and  increased  in  weight  thirty  pounds.  Lastly,  five  sheep  were 
kept  quiet  and  covered,  and  in  the  dark.  They  eat  three-fifths 
pounds  per  day,  and  increased  eight  pounds. 

Mr.  Childers  states  that  eighty  Leicester  sheep,  in  the  open 
field,  consumed  fifty  baskets  of  cut  turnips  per  day,  besides  oil 
X  cake.  On  putting  them  in  a  shed,  they  were  immediately  able 
to  consume  only  thirty  baskets,  and  soon  after  but  twenty-five, 
being  only  half  the  quantity  required  before,  and  yet  they  fat- 
tened as  rapidly  as  when  eating  the  largest  quantity.  The 
minimum  of  food,  then,  required  for  the  support  of  animals,  is 
attained  when  closely  confined  in  a  warm,  dark  shelter;  and  the 
maximum,  when  running  at  large,  exposed  to  all  weathers. 

THE  FOOD   OF  ANIMALS 

Should  be  regulated  by  a  variety  of  considerations.  The 
young  which  may  be  destined  for  maturity,  should  be  supphed 


DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 


357 


with  milk  from  the  dam  until  weaning  time.  No  food  can  be 
substituted  for  the  well-filled  udder  of  the  parent,  which  is  so  safe, 
healthful  and  nutritious.  If,  from  any  cause,  there  is  deficiency 
or  total  privation,  it  must  be  made  up  by  that  kind  of  food,  meal 
gruel,  etc.,  which^  in  composition,  approaches  nearest  in  quality 
to  the  milk.  At  a  more  advanced  age,  or  the  time  for  weaning, 
grass,  hay,  roots,  or  grain  may  be  substituted,  in  quantities  sufii- 
cient  to  maintain  a  steady,  but  not  a  forced  growth.  Stuffing  can 
only  be  tolerated  in  animals  which  are  speedily  destined  for  the 
slaughter.  Alternately  improving  and  falling  back  is  injurious 
to  any  animal.  Especially  is  high  feeding  bad  for  breeding 
animals.  Much  as  starving  is  to  be  deprecated,  the  prejudicial 
effects  of  repletion  are  still  greater.  The  calf,  pig,  or  lamb, 
intended  for  the  butcher,  may  be  pushed  forward  with  all  possible 
rapidity.  Horses  or  colts  should  never  exceed  a  good  working 
or  breeding  condition. 

Purposes  Fulfilled  by  Different  Kinds  of  Food. — 
The  objects  designed  to  be  answered  by  food  are,  to  a  certain  extent, 
the  same.  All  food  is  intended  to  meet  the  demands  of  respira- 
tion and  nutrition,  and  fattening  to  a  greater  or  less  degree.  But 
•some  are  better  suited  to  one  object  than  others,  and  it  is  for  the 
intelligent  farmer  to  select  such  as  are  best  for  accompHshing  his 
particular  purposes.  The  very  young  animal  requires  large 
quantities  of  the  phosphate  of  lime  for  the  formation  of  bone  ; 
and  this  is  yielded  in  the  milk  in  larger  proportions  than  from  any 
other  food.  The  growing  animal  wants  bone,  muscle  and  a  certain 
amount  of  fat,  and  this  is  procured  from  the  grasses,  roots,  and 
grain ;  from  the  former  when  fed  alone,  and  from  the  two  latter 
when  mixed  with  hay  or  grass.  Horses,  cattle  and  sheep  need 
hay  to  qualify  the  too  watery  nature  of  the  roots  and  the  too 
condensed  nutritiveness  of  the  grain.  Animals  that  are  preparing 
for  the  shambles,  require  vegetable  oils  or  fat,  starch,  sugar,  or 
gum.  The  first  is  contained  in  great  abundance  in  flax  and 
cotton  seed,  the  sun-flower  and  many  other  of  the  mucilaginous 


358 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


seeds.  Indian  corn  is  the  most  fattening  grain.  The  potato 
contains  the  greatest  proportion  of  starch,  and  the  sugar  beet  has 
large  quantities  of  sugar,  and  both  consequently  are  good  for  stall- 
feeding. 

The  ripe  sugar  cane  is  perhaps  the  most  fattening  of  vege- 
tables, if  we  excejot  the  oily  seeds  and  grain..  The  Swedes 
turnip  is  a  good  food  to  commence  feeding  to  cattle  and  sheep, 
but  where  great  ripeness  in  animals  is  desired,  they  should  be 
followed  with  beets,  carrots,  or  potatoes,  and  grain.  The  table 
of  the  average  composition  of  the  different  crops,  which  we  insert 
from  Johnston,  affords  another  view  of  the  nutritive  qualities  of 
varicTus  kinds  of  food,  before  given  from  Boussingault,  (page  208,) 
and  from  which  it  is  principally  abridged,  and  it  will  be  found  a 
valuable  reference  for  their  nutritive  and  fattening  qualities.  He 
says,  "  in  drawing  up  this  table,  I  have  adopted  the  proportions 
of  gluten,  for  the  most  part,  from  Boussingault.  Some  of  them, 
however,  appear  to  be  very  doubtful.,  The  proportions  of  fatty 
matter  are  also  very  uncertain.  With  a  few  exceptions,  those 
above  given  have  been  taken  from  Sprengel,  and  they  are,  in 
general,  stated  considerably  too  low.  It  is  an  interesting  fact, 
that  the  proportion  of  fatty  matter  in  and  immediately  under  the- 
husk  of  the  grains  of  corn  is  generally  much  greater  than  in  the 
substance  of  the  corn  itself  Thiis  I  have  found  the  pollard  of 
wheat  to  yield  more  than  twice  as  much  oil  as  the  fine  flour 
obtained  from  the  same  sample  of  grain.  The  four  portions  sep- 
arated by  the  miller  from  a  superior  sample  of  wheat,  grown  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Durham,  gave  of  oil  reispectively :  fine  flour, 
1.5  percent.';  pollard,  2.4;  boxings,  3.6;  and  bran,  3.3  per  cent. 
Dumas  states  that  the  husk  of  oats  sometimes  yields  as  much  as 
five  or  six  per  cent,  of  oil."  The  columns  under  starch,  etc.,  and 
fatty  matter,  denote  the  value  for  respiration  or  sustaining  life, 
and  the  fattening  qualities ;  that  under  gluten,  the  capacity  for 
.yielding  muscle  and  supporting  labor ;  and  saline  matter  indicates 
something  of  the  proportions  which  are  capable  of  being  converted 
into  bones: 


DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 


359 


Huslc  or 

Starch  y 

Gluten J 

Water. 

woody 

gum,  and 

albumen, 

Fatty 

Saline 

fibre. 

sugar. 

legumin,  &c. 

matter. 

matter. 

Wheat,  . 

.16 

15 

55 

10  to  15 

2  to  4  J. 

2.0 

Barley, 

.      .  15 

15 

60 

12? 

2.5  J. 

2.0 

Oats,      *  • 

.  16 

20 

50 

o.o  o . 

O.O 

Rye,  . 

12 

10 

60 

14.5 

3.0 

1.0 

Indian  corn,  , 

.  14 

^15? 

50 

12.0 

5  to  9  D. 

1.5 

Buckwheat, 

16? 

25? 

50 

14.5 

0.4? 

1.5 

Beans,  . 

.  16 

10 

40 

28.0 

2t 

3.0 

Peas,  . 

13 

8 

50 

24.0 

2.8? 

2.8  ' 

Potatoes, 

.   ■  .  75? 

5? 

12? 

2.25 

0.3  0. 

8tol 

Turnips, 

85 

3 

10 

1.2 

?      0.8  to  1 

Carrots,  . 

.      .  85 

3 

10 

2.0 

0.4 

1.0 

Meadow  hay. 

14 

30 

40 

7.1 

2  to  5  D. 

5  to  10 

Clover  hay. 

.  14 

25 

40 

9.3 

3.0 

9  . 

Pea  straw,  . 

.    lU  to  15 

45 

12.3 

1.5 

5 

Oat  straw, 

.  12 

45 

35 

1.3 

0.8 

6 

Wheat  straw,  , 

.  12  to  15 

50 

30 

1.3 

0.5 

5 

Barley  straw, 

12  to  15 

50 

30 

1.3 

0.8 

5 

Rye,  . 

.  12  to  15 

45 

38 

1.3 

0.5 

3 

Indian  corn,  do. 

.  12 

25 

52 

3.0 

1.7 

4 

This  table,  it  will  be  perceived,  is  far  from  settling  tbe  precise 
-relative  value  of  the  different  enumerated  articles.  An  absolute, 
unchanging  value  can  never  be  assumed  of  any  one  substance,  as 
the  quaUtj  of  each  must  differ  with  the  particular  variety,  the 
soil  upon  which  it  is  grown,  the  character  of  the  season,  the  man- 
ner of  curing,  and  other  circumstances.  An  approximate  relative 
value  is  all  that  can  be  expected,  and  this  we  may  hope  ere  long 
to  obtain,  from  the  spirit  of  analytical  research  which  is  now 
developed  and  in  successful  progress.  More  especially  do  we 
need  these  investigations  with  American  products^  some  of  which 
are  but  partially  cultivate(i  in  Europe,  whence  we  derive  most  of 
our  analysis.  And  many  which  are  there  reared,  differ  widely 
from  those  produced  here,  as  these  also  differ  from  each  other. 
What,  for  instance,  is  the  charact.er  of  meadow  hay  f  We  know 
that  this  varies  as  four  to  one,  according  to  the  particular  kinds 
grown;  and  our  Indian  corn  has  certainly  a  less  range  than  from 
five  to  nine. 

The  Changes  in  the  Food  of  Animals. — Potatoes  when 
first  ripe,  are  estimated  to  be  worth  for  feeding  purposes,  nearly 


3(30  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 

twbe  as  much  as  when  old;  and  we  have  seen  that  the  relative 
value  of  the  different  kinds  varies  greatly  at  the  same  age,  and 
under  similar  conditions  of  growth.  Perrault  ascertained  by 
careful  experiment,  that  hay,  clover  and  lucern  lost  much  of  their 
nutritive  qualities  by  drying,  and  in  lucern  this  loss  amounted  to 
about  thirty-five  per  cent.  This  is  an  important  consideration  in 
the  feeding  of  green  and  dry  forage. '  Oats  are  among  the  best 
feed,  both  for  young  and  working  animals;  but  it  is  found  that 
they  are  greatly  improved  for  the  latter,  and  perhaps  for  both, 
by  allowing  the  new  crop  to  remain  till  the  latter  part  of  winter 
before  feeding. 

The  improvement  by  steaming  and  cooking  food  has  been 
alluded  to  in  a  previous  chapter.  Food  properly  managed,  can 
never  be  made  worse  by  cooking  for  any  animals,  although  it  has 
not  been  considered  so  essential  for  working,  and  generally  for 
ruminating  animals,  as  for  swine,  and  such  as  were  stall-feeding. 
But  the  alteration  produced  in  cooking,  by  fitting  it  for  a  more 
ready  assimilation,  must  as  a  general  rule,  add  much  to  the  value 
of  the  food,  and  the  rapid  improvement  of  the  animal.  The 
effect  of  slight  fermentation  or  souring  the  food,  produces  the 
same  result.  Animals  accustomed  to  this  acid  food,  will  reject 
what  is  unprepared  when  they  can  get  at  ihe  former;  and  we 
have  no  doubt,  from  our  own  experience,  that  there  is  a  saving 
in  thus  preparing  it,  from  20  to  40  per  cent.  A  mixture  of  food 
should  be  supplied  to  all  animals.  Like  man,  they  tire  of  any 
constant  ahment.  For  such,  especially,  as  are  fattening,  and  which 
it  is  desirable  to  mature  with  the  greatest  rapidity,  a  careful  indul- 
gence of  their  appetite  should  be  studied,  and  it  should  be  pro- 
vided with  whatever  it  most  craves,  if  it  be  adapted  to  the 
secretion  of  fat.  Cutting,  crushing  and  grinding  the  food;  cook- 
ing, souring  and  mixing  it,  are  each  by  themselves  an  improve- 
ment in  feeding,  and  frequently  two  or  more  of  these  preparations 

combined,  are  of  great  utility  in  effecting  the  object  proposed. 
The  profit  of  feeding,  it  is  evident,  consists  in  a  valuable 

return  from  the  animal  of  the  food  consumed.    In  the  horse,  this 


DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 


361 


can  only  be  received  in  labor  or  breeding;  in  the  ox,  from  labor 
and  flesh;  in  the  cow,  from  the  milk,  the  flesh  and  her  young. 
In  the  sheep,  it  may  be  returned  in  its  fleece,  its  carcass  or  its 
progeny;  and  in  the  swine,  only  by  its  progeny  and  flesh.  The 
manure  we  expect  from  all,  and  if  this  be  not  secured  and  judi- 
ciously used,  few  animals  about  the  farm  will  be  found  to  yield  a 
satisfactory  profit  for  their  food  and  attention;  though  it  is  evi- 
dent, it  should  form  but  a  small  part  of  the  return  looked  for. 
Animals  are  only  profitable  to  the  farmer  when  they  yield  a  daily 
income,  as  in  its  milk  or  labor,  or  annually^  by  its  young  or  fleece, 
unless  it  be  in  a  course  of  regular  improvement,  either  in  its  ordinary 
growth  or  preparation  for  the  butcher.  The  animal  nmst  con- 
sume a  certain  amount  of  food  merely  to  keep  up  its  stationary 
condition,  and  to  supply  the  materials  for  waste,  respiration,  per- 
spiration and  the.  evacuations.  These  must  first  be  provided  for 
in  all  cases,  before  the  farmer  can  expect  anything  for  the  food. 

Frequent  observation  has  shown  that  an  ox  will  consume  about 
2  per  cent,  of  his  weight  of  hay  per  day,  to  maintain  his  con- 
dition. If  put  to  moderate  labor,  an  increase  of  this  quantity, 
to  3  per  cent.,  will  enable  him  to  perform  his  work  and  still  main- 
tain his  flesh.  If  to  be  fattened,  he  requires  about  43^  per  cent, 
of  his  weight  daily,  in  nutritious  food.  A  cow  to  remain  station- 
ary and  give  no  milk,  eats  2  per  cent,  of  her  weight  daily,  and 
if  in  milk,  she  will  consume  3  per  cent.  If  these  statements  are 
correct,  which  it  is  certain  they  are  in  principle,  though  they  may 
not  be  entirely  in  degree,  it  will  require  the  same  food  to  keep 
three  yoke  of  cattle  in  idleness,  as  two  at  work,  and  the  food  of 
every  two  that  are  idle,  will  nearly  support  one  under  the  most 
rapid  condition  of  fattening.  Two  cows  may  be  kept  in  milk  with 
the  same  feed  that  will  keep  three  without. 

No  practice  is  more  impoHtic,  than  barely  to  sustain  the  stock 
through  the  winter,  or  a  part  of  the  year,  as  is  the  case  in  too 
many  instances,  and  allow  them  to  improve  only  when  turned  on 
grass  in  summer.    Besides  subjecting  them  to  the  risk  of  disease 
16 


362 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


consequent  upon  their  privation  of  food,  nearly  half  the  year  is 
'lost  in  their  use,  or  in  maturing  them  for  profitable  disposal,  when 
if  one-third  of  the  stock  had  been  sold,  the  remainder  would 
have  been  kept  in  a  rapidly  improving  condition,  and  at  three 
years  of  age,  they  would  probably  be  of  equal  value  as  other- 
wise at  five  or  six.  It  is  true  that  breed  has  much  to  do  with 
this  rapid  advancement,  but  breed  is  useless  without  food  to 
develop  and  mature  it. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

NEAT,  OE  HOEITED  CATTLE. 

The  value  of  our  neat  cattle  exceeds  that  of  any  other  of  the 
domestic  animals  in  the  United  States,  and  they  are  as  widely 
disseminated  and  more  generally  useful.  Like  the  sheep  and  all 
our  domestic  brutes,  they  have  been  so  long  and  so  entirely  sub- 
ject to  the  control  of  man,  that  their  original  type  is  unknown. 
They  have  been  allowed  entire  freedom  from  all  human  direction 
or  restraint  for  hundreds  of  years,  on  the  boundless  pampas  of 
South  America,  Mexico  and  elsewhere;  but  when  permitted 
to  resume  that  natural  condition,  by  which  both  plants  and  ani- 
mals approximate  in  character  to  their  original  head,  they  have 
scarcely  deviated  in  any  respect  from  the  domestic  herds  from 
which  they  are  descended.  From  this  it  may  be  inferred,  that 
our  present  races  do  not  differ  in  any  of  their  essential  features 
and  characteristics  from  the  original  stock. 

VARIOUS  DOMESTIC  BREEDS. 

Cultivation,  feed  and  climate,  have  much  to  do  in  determining 
the  form,  size  and  character  of  cattle.  JEvery  country,  and 
almost  every  district,  has  its  peculiar  breeds,  which  by  long 
association  have  become  adapted  to  the  food  and  circumstances 
of  its  position,  and  when  found  profitable,  they  should  be 
exchanged  for  others,  only  after  the  most  thorough  trial  of 
superior  fitness  for  the  particular  location,  in  those  proposed  to 
be  introduced.  More  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  improve- 
ment of  the  various  breeds  of  cattle  in  England  than  in  any 
other  country ;  and  it  is  there  they  have  attained  the  greatest 
perfection  in  form  and  character,,  for  the  various  purposes  to 


364 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


which  they  are  devoted.  We  have  derived  directly  from  Great 
Britain,  not  only  the  parent  stock  from  which  nearly  all  of  our 
cattle  are  descended,  but  also  most  of  those  fresh  importations, 
to  which  we  have  looked  for  improvement  on  the  present  race 
of  animals.  A  few  choice  Dutch  cattle,  generally  black  and 
white,  and  of  large  size,  good  forms  and  good  milkers,  with  a 
decided  tendency  to  fatten,  have  been  occasionally  introduced 
among  us,  but  not  in  any  considerable  numbers. 

Native  Cattle. — This  is  a  favorite  term  with  Americans, 
and  comprehends  everything  in  the  country  excepting  such  as 
are  of  a  pure  and  distinct  breed.  It  embraces  some  of  the  best, 
some  of  the  worst,  and  some  of  almost  every  variety,  shape, 
color  and  character  of  the  bovine  race.  The  designation  has  no 
farther  meaning,  than  that  they  are  indigenous  to  the  soil,  and 
do  not  belong  to  any  well  defined  or  distinct  variety.  The  best 
native  cattle  of  the  Union,  are  undoubtedly  to  be  found  in  the 
North-eastern  States.  Most  of  the  early  emigrant  cattle  in  that 
section  were  from  the  southern  part  of  England,  and  though  not 
bearing  a  close  resemblance  to  any  particular  Enghsh  breed, 
unless  it  has  been  impressed  upon  them  by  more  recent  importa- 
tions, yet  a  large  number  have  that  general  approximation  in 
character,  features  and  color,  which  entitles  them  to  claim  a 
kindred  with  one  or  another  of  the  better  breeds  there.  They 
have  been  so  promiscuously  interbred  that  most  of  their  original 
characteristics  are  lost,  and  an  amalgamation  of  their  good,  bad, 
or  indifferent  quahties,  have  become  diffused  into  their  present 
condition. 

Of  the  native  cattle  we  need  not  further  speak,  as  they  abound 
everywhere,  and  their  various  qualities  are  well  known;  but  as 
they  evidently  need  improvement  by  an  infusion  of  better,  and 
foreign  distinct  breeds  among  them,  the  principal  varieties  of 
those  introduced  here  for  that  purpose  will  be  named. 

the  devons. 

This  beautiful  race  is  claimed,  in  England,  their  native  coun- 
try, where  only  in  Europe  they  are  bred  in  any  considerable 


NEAT  CATTLE. 


365 


numbers,  to  be  aboriginal  in  blood,  being  known  there  before  the 
time  of  the  Koman  invasion,  in  the  early  centuries  of  the  Chris- 
tian era.  They  are  of  medium  size,  red  in  color,  symmetrical  in 
shape,  and  of  great  beauty  in  appearance,  combining  almost 
every  good  quality  demanded  in  the  bovine  race.  They  have 
been  kept  and  cultivated  for  many  centuries  in  the  south-western 
counties  of  England — more  in  Devonshire  than  elsewhere — and 
much  improved  in  form  and  early  ripeness  within  the  last  century. 
They  were  brought  into  America  probably  among  the  early 
importations  of  cattle  by  the  Massachusetts  colonies.  "We  have 
no  accounts  of  their  having  been  distinctly  bred  by  themselves, 
and  they  became  soon  lost  in  the  miscellaneous  admixtures  which 
prevailed  among  all  the  early  importations.  Yet,  their  blood 
and  characteristics  were  strong,  and  they  gave  tone  and  style  to 
many  of  the  predominating  herds  in  various  sections  of  the  coun- 
try, where  their  taking  appearance  made  them  favorites  as  work- 
ing  oxen. 

They  are  fine  in  the  bone,  round  and  long  in  the  carcass,  wide 
in  the  hips,  short  in  the  leg,  straight  and  broad  in  the  back,  fine 
in  the  head  and  neck,  deep  in  the  chest  and  brisket,  prominent  in 
the  eye,  high  and  spreading  in  the  horn,  and  yellow  in  the  muz- 
zle— ^taken  altogether,  of  most  graceful  and  blood-like  appear- 
ance. They  are  naturally  excellent  milkers,  giving  a  medium 
quantity,  and  of  remarkably  good  quality,  yielding  the  richest 
butter.  It  is  but  just  to  say,  however,  that  the  Enghsh  breeders 
of  them,  within  the  last  century,  have  bred  them  more  with  a 
view  to  flesh  and  early  maturity  as  beef  cattle  than  for  the  dairy, 
in  which  symmetry  in  form,  early  ripeness,  and  choicer  meat  has 
been  obtained  at  the  expense  of  their  dairy  qualities.  Yet 
among  the  thorough-bred  herds  in  the  United  States,  where 
attention  has  been  paid  to  the  milk  development,  they  have 
proved  well  in  that  particular. 

A  few  small  herds  of  pure  Devons  were  imported  into  the 
United  States  early  in  the  present  century.  Those  have  since 
been  added  to  by  several  new  importations  into  several  of  the 
Eastern  States,  down  to  a  quite  recent  date,  and  been  bred  in  their 


366 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


purity,  and  of  a  quality  quite  equal,  probably,  to  tbeir  original 
ancestry  in  England.  Their  beef  is  of  the  best  quality,  and  for 
working  oxen  they  excel  almost  any  others,  being  quick  and 
sprightly  in  action,  docile  in  temper,  easily  matched  in  color  and 
movement.  Yet  with  all  their  good  quahties,  they  have  not,  of 
late,  been  so  generally  sought  and  appreciated  as  their  merits 
demand,  as  tastes  and  fashions  change,  in  cattle,  as  in  some  other 
commodities.  But  for  hilly  and  medium  soils,  no  cattle  are  bet- 
ter fitted,  as  a  profitable  stock,  for  the  farmer.  We  decidedly 
recommend  them,  from  long  experience  in  their  keeping,  as  a 
valuable  and  profitable  race. 

THE  HEREFORDS. 

This  is  another  valuable  breed,  of  great  antiquity  in  some  of 
the  western  counties  of  England,  bordering  on  Wales,  of  which 
Herefordshire  is  the  chief,  and  from  which  the  cattle  take  their 
name.  They  have  been  bred  there,  time  immemorial,  with  a 
distinctive  character  altogether  their  own,  and  are  claimed  by 
their  breeders  and  advocates  to  have  an  origin  as  distinct  and 
pure  as  any  other  breed.  In  England  they  are  highly  esteemed 
as  among  the  best  of  the  beef  producing  breeds,  in  early  matu- 
rity, and  a  profitable  carcass,  and  hold  a  sharp  competition  and 
rivalry  with  even  the  best  of  other  breeds  for  the  shambles.  As 
working  oxen  they  are  unsurpassed.  As  a  dairy  cow,  the  Here- 
ford is  less  esteemed,  not  running  to  milk  so  well  as  the  Devons, 
and  some  of  the  other  more  common  dairy  breeds. 

They  were  probably  early  imported,  with  other  cattle,  to 
America,  but,  like  them,  became  lost  in  the  general  diffusion  of 
their  blood  with  them.  Their  size  is  large,  their  color  red,  with 
white  or  mottled  faces,  sometimes  white  backs  and  belhes,  and 
occasionally  a  deep  roan  of  red  and  white  intermixed  on  their 
bodies.  In  general  shape  they  are  much  like  the  Devons,  a  fourth 
larger  in  size,  somewhat  coarser  in  the  bone,  and  hardly  so  refined 
and  graceful  in  the  outline.  Their  horns  are  high  and  spreading. 
So  far  as  tried  in  America,  as  a  beef  animal  they  mature  early,  as 


NEAT  CATTLE. 


367 


at  three  to  four  years  they  are  well  grown  for  fattening.  As  a 
working  ox  no  beast  can  be  better,  being  large,  strong,  readily 
matched,  docile,  and  of  great  strength — taken  altogether,  the  best 
of  working  cattle. 

Several  herds  of  pure  Herefords  have  been  imported  here 
'  within  thirty  years  past;  successfully  bred,  and  scattered.  They 
have  been  well  approved,  as  a  grazier's  beast,  fitted  to  our 
medium  soils,  and  profitable.  Several  good  herds  now  exist 
among  us,  but  we  regret  to  say  they  are  not  sought  by  our  lead- 
ing cattle  breeders  with  the  avidity  to  which,  by  their  actual 
merits,  they  are  entitled. 

THE  AYRSHIRES. 

This  is  perhaps  the  most  popular  breed  of  milk  cows  now  in 
Scotland,  taking  their  name  from  the  county  of  Ayr,  where  they 
were  first  originated  and  bred,  and  obtained  their  celebrity. 
Their  origin  is  of  recent  date,  being  within  the  last  hundred 
years,  and  made  up  from  the  original  Scotch  Kyloe  cow,  by  a 
cross  of  bulls  obtained  from  the  north-eastern  counties  of  Eng- 
land, mainly,  so  far  as  our  investigations  have  proved,  the  Short- 
horns, the  older  original  families  of  which  were  known  as  excel- 
lent milkers.  The  history  of  these  various  crosses  is  too  much 
involved  in  obscurity  to  trace  it  thoroughly  within  our  limited 
pages ;  but  as  they  are  now  a  well  established  breed  of  great 
merit  in  their  lacteal  qualities,  and  widely  disseminated  in  Scot- 
land, England  and  America  as  dairy  cattle,  their  history  is  of  less 
consequence  than  the  fact  of  their  decided  excellence  for  the  pail. 
They  may  now  be  considered  as  an  established  dairy  breed, 
capable  of  perpetuating,  in  their  OAvn  blood  alone,  their  excellent 
qualities.    As  such,  they  are  now  bred,  cherished,  and  valued. 

In  size  they  are  medium,  compared  with  our  native  cattle ;  in 
color,  dark  red,  or  brown  and  white,  occasionally  inclining  to  roan, 
sometimes  flecked,  or  spotted,  the  red  and  white  variously  inter- 
mingling. Their  shape  is  usually  good,  being  squarely  built, 
short  in  the  leg,  broader  behind  than  before,  as  all  good  milkers 


368 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


should  be,  straight  in  the  back,  wide  across  the  hips,  finely  shaped 
udder  with  the  milk  marks  well  developed,  and  bounteous  milk- 
ers. Their  heads  are  small,  the  horns  short  and  well  set,  the  eye 
bright,  the  nose  either  dark  or  yellow,  but  the  dark  usually  pre- 
vailing,— altogether  a  satisfactory  dairy  cow. 

They  were  first  imported  into  America  in  the  year  1822, 
and  many  more  about  1830,  when  they  readily  established  a 
good  reputation  as  milkers.  Frequent  importations,  and  in  con- 
siderable numbers,  have  since  been  made,  and  they  have  been 
bred  and  multiplied  with  a  care  evincing  the  value  accorded  to 
them  by  those  who  best  knew  their  good  properties.  They  are 
fitted  to  our  medium  soils  and  rougher  lands,  being  active  in 
movement,  docile  in  temper,  and  grazing  where  some  of  the 
heavier  and  more  sluggish  breeds  would  not  so  well  flourish. 

As  a  beef  or  laboring  animal  they  have  been  but  little  sought 
or  tried.  That  the  quality  of  their  flesh  may  be  good — equal 
perhaps  to  others — we  have  no  reason  to  doubt,  although  our 
opportunities  to  judge  them  have  been  limited.  As  a  laboring 
ox  they  have  really  had  no  trial.  Their  demand,  hitherto,  for 
breeding  purposes,  has  been  too  active  to  admit  of  thorough  trials 
for  either  flesh  or  labor. 

THE  POLLED  CATTLE,  OR  GALLOWAYS, 

Of  Scotland,  have  been  recently  introduced  into  Upper  Canada 
(now  Ontario,)  by  several  of  the  Scotch  farmers  there.  They 
are  a  beef  animal  chiefly,  the  cows  having  little  reputation  in 
their  native  land  as  milkers.  They  are  of  medium  size  only, 
mostly  black  in  color,  although  occasionally  red,  dun,  or  black  and 
red  brindled,  compact  in  shape,  and  hornless.  They  are  hardy, 
easy  keepers,  early  matured,  and  of  excellent  quality  for  flesh. 
They  thrive  well  on  rough  soils  and  in  a  severe  climate,  and  may, 
on  some  of  our  leaner  lands,  yet  obtain  a  considerable  celebrity. 
Some  of  their  partial  breeders  and  advocates  contend  that  they 
are  good  milkers,  but  such  is  not  their  usual  reputation.  For  the 
lighter  labor  uses  they  have  proved  good  working  oxen. 


NEAT  CATTLE. 


THE  SHORT-HORNS.  fl  LilBHAF 

This  is  the  most  universally  popular  foreign  breedl^ our  coun-_  

try.    Their  large  size,  full  development,  and  excell^,  general  '^^^^  ^ 
qualities,  have  made  them  universal  favorites  on  all  good  ^i^fl^l^NO^^ 
where  abundant  grasses  prevail.     They  have  great  size,  greaT 
length,  breadth,  and  depth  of  carcass,  small  in  bone,  fine  in  sym- 
metry, attractive  in  color,  which  is  red,  and  white,  wholly,  or  of 
those  colors  in  patches,  or  agreeably  interminghng  through  all 
degrees  and  shades  of  roan.    They  are  fine  in  the  head,  clean  in 
the  neck,  with  yellow  noses,  bright  eyes,  small,  short,  curved 
horns,  and  of  elegant,  imposing  contour.    They  mature  early,  at 
three  to  four  years  old,  and  make  a  quick  and  profitable  return 
of  their  food  in  either  milk,  or  beef,  for  either  of  which  purposes 
they  may  be  profitably  bred  and  used,  as  selections  are  made,  or 
these  qualities  are  required.    As  working  oxen  exclusively,  we 
do  not  recommend  them,  as  they  are  heavier  and  slower  in  move- 
ment than  some  of  the  other  breeds,  or  even  our  native  cattle. 

They  are  of  ancient  origin,  and  until  early  in  the  present  cen- 
tury never  known,  to  any  extent,  only  in  a  few  of  the  North- 
eastern counties  of  England.  In  their  present  improved  condition 
they  were  imported  to  America,  only  so  late  as  the  earher  years 
of  the  present  century.  But  since  their  good  qualities  have 
become  more  known  and  approved,  frequent  and  valuable  impor- 
tations have  been  made  of  the  best  blood,  and  they  have  been 
bred  and  scattered  throughout  the  country,  with  an  assiduity  per- 
taining to  no  other  foreign  breed,  and  promising  a  popularity 
among  our  cattle  breeders  and  farmers,  on  the  richer  soils,  which 
is  likely  to  become  permanent. 

When  bred  for  that  purpose,  they  have  proved  excellent  milkers, 
and  for  quantity  of  flesh  to  the  carcass  they  are  superior  as  a 
beef  producing  animal.  Yet,  in  their  pure  blood,  and  kept  solely 
for  breeding,  they  require  good  care  to  keep  them  up  to  their 
best  condition,  in  quality  and  appearance,  as,  indeed  do  all  other 
good  cattle,  of  any  established  breeds. 
16^ 


370 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


THE  ALDERNEYS,  OR  JERSEYS, 

Are  a  choice,  small  race,  giving  a  moderate  quantity  of  very 
rich,  creamy  milk,  much  prized  by  families  who  choose  to  indulge 
in  the  rarest  luxury  of  its  kind.  They  are  natives  of  the  Chan- 
nel Islands  of  Britain,  lying  off  the  coast  of  Normandy  in 
France,  where  they  are  reared  and  kept  in  the  highest  perfection. 
In  size  they  are  small,  and  in  shape  lean,  ragged,  and  angular, 
as  compared  with  the  Devons,  or  Short-horns.  Their  heads  are 
small,  yet  symmetrical,  with  black  muzzles,  mealy  faces,  bright, 
prominent  eyes,  dishing  or  slightly  concave  forehead,  light,  short, 
crooked  horns,  and  thin  necks.  Their  shoulders  are  high  and 
narrow,  they  are  thin  in  the  chest,  large  in  the  belly,  somewhat 
depressed  in  the  back,  high  and  well-spread  in  the  hips,  thin  in  the 
thighs.  The  udder  and  teats  are  well  shaped  and  delicate,  giving 
a  moderate  quantity — say  eight  to  twelve  quarts  a  day  of  the 
richest,  yellowest  milk,  and  yielding  more  butter  to  a  given 
quantity  than  any  other  race  of  cows  known.  Their  colors  are 
usually  fawn  and  white,  or  squirrel  grey,"  prettily  blended,  and 
sometimes  a  smoky,  or  deep  brown  hue,  and  occasionally  black 
and  white  mottled.  They  have  a  pecuHarly  Z>Zooc^-like  appear- 
ance, and  of  distinct  characteristics  from  any  other  breed.  They 
are  docile  in  disposition,  not  so  hardy  to  withstand  the  severe 
vicissitudes  of  our  climates  as  some  others,  yet  great  favorites 
with  those  who  properly  appreciate  and  carefully  use  them.  They 
are  rapidly  increasing  in  popul^irity,  particularly  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  our  large  towns  and  cities, — indeed  some  of  our 
tasteful  lovers  of  this  race  of  hovines^  jocularly  assert  that  the 
ownership  of  one  or  more  Alderneys  is  necessary  to  constitute  a 
finished  "country  gentleman." 

As  a  beef  producing,  or  working  ox,  the  Alderney  is  in  little 
request,  their  forms  not  being  fitted  to  excel  in  the  one,  nor  their 
muscular  form  sufficient  for  the  strength  of  the  other.  Still  they 
are  a  most  useful  and  desirable  breed  for  the  purposes  to  which 
they  are  applied. 


NEAT  CATTLE. 


371 


THE  DUTCH  CATTLE,  OR  HOLSTEINS. 

This  valuable  dairy  breed  has  lately  been  introduced  iTom 
Holland  into  the  neighborhood  of  Boston,  Mass.  They  are  of 
large  size,  black  and  white  in  color,  and  in  shape  somewhat 
resemble  the  Short-horns.  They  have  evidently  been  bred  in 
their  own  original  blood,  for  a  long  time,  perhaps  for  centuries, 
in  their  native  homes,  the  dairy  districts  of  North  Holland,  and 
been  carefully  improved  with  a  view  to  develop  their  lacteal 
qualities.  Their  trial,  as  a  dairy  cow,  has  thus  far  been  most 
successful,  as  they  show  all  the  prominent  points  of  great  milkers, 
both  in  quantity  and  quahty.  We  have  seen  some  fine  speci- 
mens of  them,  and  have  no  doubt  of  their  value  in  making  up 
one  of  the  most  useful  of  our  dairy  varieties,  on  good  soils,  and 
under  proper  treatment,  as  well  as  for  labor,  and  beef.  We  hope 
to  see  them  thoroughly  distributed  and  successful  throughout  the 
country. 

There  is  still  another  race  of  hardy,  rugged  little  cattle  which 
we  hope  yet  to  see  introduced  into  America,  as  being  wonder- 
fully well  fitted  to  our  mountainous  regions  of  country,  and  the 
wild,  high  plains  of  the  Western  States  and -Territories.  It  is 
the  "West  Highland"  breed  of  Scotland.  They  have  there  bred 
and  flourished,  time  immemorial.  They  are  of  little  value  for 
milk,  but  their  flesh  is  superior  to  any  known  breed  in  Britain. 

MANAGEMENT  OF  CALVES. 

The  safest  and  least  troublesome  manner  of  raising  calves,  is 
at  the  udder  of  the  dam;  and  whenever  the  milk  is  not  converted 
into  butter  and  cheese,  we  believe  this  to  be  the  most  economical. 
The  milk  of  one  good  cow  is  sufficient,  with  a  run  of  fresh,  sweet 
pasture,  to  the  feeding  of  two  calves  at  the  same  time,  and  if  we 
allow  the  calves  to  arrive  at  three  or  four  months  of  age  before 
weaning,  we  may  safely  estimate,  that  one  good  cow  will  yield  a 
quantity  of  milk  in  one  season  fully  equivalent  to  bringing  up 
four  calves  to  the  weaning  age.    By  keeping  the  calf  on  the  fresh 


372 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


milk,  whether  he  take  it  directly  from  the  udder,  or  warm  from 
the  pail,  all  risk  of  disordered  bowels  is  avoided.  The  milk  is 
precisely  adapted  to  the  perfect  health  and  thrift  of  the  young, 
and  whenever  we  substitute  for  it  any  other  food,  we  must  watch 
carefully  that  not  the  slightest  mismanagement  produces  disorder, 
lest  more  be  lost  by  disease  or  want  of  improvement,  than  is 
gained  loy  the  milk  of  which  they  are  robbed.  The  calf,  or 
calves,  should  never  run  at  large  with  the  cow,  but  always  be 
confined  in  a  yard  or  grass  paddock,  until  thoroughly  weaned, 
when  they  may  be  turned  to  pasture,  apart  from  the  cow. 

The  first  milk  of  the  cow,  after  calving,  is  slightly  purgative, 
which  is  essential  to  cleanse  the  stomach  of  the  calf.  It  is  more- 
over of  little  value,  for  two  or  three  days,  for  any  other  pur- 
poses except  for  swine.  The  calf  will  seldom  take  all  the  milk 
at  first,  and  whatever  is  left  in  the  bag  should  be  thoroughly 
removed  by  the  hand.  If  the  calf  is  destined  for  the  butcher, 
he  must  have  all  the  milk  he  wants  for  at  least  six  weeks,  and 
eight  or  ten  is  better;  and  if  the  cow  does  not  furnish  enough,  he 
ought  to  be  fed  Indian,  barley,  pea,  or  oat  meal  gruel,  or  linseed 
tea.  He  should  be  closely  confined  in  a  snug,  but  clean  and  airy 
stable,  and  the  darker  this  is,  and  the  more  quiet  he  is  kept,  the 
more  readily  he  will  fatten.  If  designed  to  be  reared,  the  safest 
and  least  troublesome  method  is  to  keep  the  calf  on  new  milk. 
If  saving  the  milk  be  an  object,  it  is  still  doubtful  whether  it  is 
not  better  that  he  should  have  a  part  of  it  fresh  from  the  cow, 
and  depend  for  his  remaining  food  on  a  good  grass  or  clover 
pasture,  meal  or  roots.  Some  farmers  never  allow  the  calf  to 
approach  the  dam,  but  take  it  when  first  dropped,  and  put  a 
handful  of  salt  in  its  mouth,  which  is  daily  repeated  till  he  is  put 
to  grass.  This  has  a  purgative  effect,  similar  to  the  first  milk. 
Flax-seed  is  theu  prepared  by  boiling  a  pint  in  four  to  six  quarts 
of  water,  and  diluted  with  hay  tea  till  rather  thicker  than  milk, 
and  fed  at  blood  heat.  It  is  a  much  better  plan,  however,  to 
let  the  calf  suckle  the  cow  for  two  or  three  days,  until  the  fcetal 
matter  frqm  the  intestines  has  fully  passed  off.    Its  nursing  is 


NEAT  CATTLE, 


373 


sootliing  to  the  udder  of  its  dam,  and  altogether  the  best  and 
most  natural  way  of  startnig  the  calf  into  a  healthy  growth.  As 
the  calf  becomes  older,  oat,  barley,  rye,  or  Indian  meal  may  be 
scalded  and  added  to  the  flax-seed.  A  better  way  when  the 
skim  milk  is  of  little  consequence,  is  to  withdraw  him  from 
the  cow  after  three  or  four  days,  then  scald  the  milk,  ad- 
ding a  little  oat  meal,  and  cool  to  the  natural  temperature 
of  the  milk,  and  feed  it.  'Oats,  either  crushed  or  ground,  is 
the  best  and  safest  grain  for  all  young  stock.  The  milk  should 
not  stand  more  than  half  a  day  before  feeding  to  young  calves. 
As  they  advance  in  age,  it  may  be  fed  rather  older,  but  should 
never  be  allowed  to  become  sour;  nor  should  it  ever  be  fed  cold. 
Connected  with  this  feed  should  be  a  good  range  of  short,  sweet 
pasture,  and  shelter  against  both  sun  and  storms.  If  expedient, 
at  about  twelve  weeks  old,  he  may  be  safely  weaned,  but  four 
months'  nursing  is  better  for  the  calf.  If  allowed  only  milk  for 
several  months,  without  grass  or  other  coarser  food,  it  is  injurious 
to  the  future  development  of  the  young.  Milk  alone  does 
not  distend  the  stomach  properly,  nor  call  into  use  its  rumi-  ^ 
nating  habits.  Calves  thus  brought  up,  have  often  proved 
light-bellied,  indifferent  feeders,  and  decidedly  inferior  animals. 
"When  the  calf  is  removed  from  the  cow,  they  should  be 
effectually  separated  from  sight  and  hearing,  as  recognition 
creates  uneasiness,  and  is  an  impediment  to  thrift  in  both.  If 
there  be  any  deficiency  of  suitable  pasture  for  the  calf,  a  small 
rack  and  trough  should  be  placed  under  the  shed  in  his  range, 
and  fine  hay  put  in  the  former,  and  wheat  bran  or  oat  meal,  with 
a  little  salt,  in  the  latter.  It  is  also  well  to  have  resin  within  its 
reach,  and  if  inclined  to  scour,  add  a  little  rennet  to  its  food ;  if 
costive,  administer  pork  broth.  For  disordered  bowels,  mix  2 
dr.  rhubarb,  2  oz.  castor  oil,  and  /i  dr.  ginger,  with  a  little  warm 
milk  or  gruel ;  or  give  2  oz.  castor  oil  alone,  or  3  oz.  of  Epsom 
salts.  Calves,  like  all  young  stock,  should  be  allowed  to  change 
their  feed  gradually,  from  new  milk  to  skimmed,  or  from  the 
latter  to  other  food.   Their  stomachs  are  delicate,  and  need  gentle, 


374 


AMERICAN  AaRICULTURE. 


moderate  changes,  when  necessary  to  make  them  at  all.  Much 
depends  on  the  care  and  attention  they  receive.  A  comfortable 
shelter,  with  a  dry,  warm  bed,  suitable  food,  regularly  given 
three  times  a  day  at  blood  heat,  and  keeping  the  stomach  in 
proper  order,  will  do  much  to  bring  them  forward  rapidly,  and 
with  a  small  expenditure  of  food.  The  calf  may  grow  faster  if 
supplied  through  the  winter  with  an  abundance  of  fine,  sweet  liay 
and  roots,  the  latter  either  chopped  or  mashed  by  a  roller,  with 
the  addition  of  a  trifle  of  meal  or  oats,  and  a  weekly  supply  of 
salt,  and  pure  water  daily.  When  there  are  larger  animals  on 
the  premises,  the  calves  ought  to  be  kept  by  themselves.  They 
should  be  sustained  on  their  winter  feed  the  following  spring,  until 
the  grass  furnishes  a  good  bite  on  a  well-compacted  sod.  The 
change  from  hay  to  grass  must  be  gradual,  unless  the  latter  is 
considerably  matured.  The  extreme  relaxation  of  the  bowels 
from  the  sudden  change,  frequently  produces  excessive  purging. 
A  slight  and  temporary  relax  from  the  early  spring  grass  is  not 
objectionable. 

Time  of  Breeding. — The  young  animals  should  never  be  put 
to  breeding  mider  fifteen  months  old,  so  as  to  bring  their  first 
calf  at  two  years  old;  nor  then,  unless  they  have  large  size  and 
good  feed.    Much  depends  on  the  progress  towards  maturity, 
and  the  supply  of  food,  in  selecting  the  proper  time  for  breeding. 
Some  are  as  ready  for  this  at  a  year  and  a  half  as  others  are  at 
three.    Early  breeding  gives  deUcacy  and  symmetry  to  the  form 
of  the  heifer,  but  it  checks  its  growth,  and  when  it  is  found  to 
put  her  back  too  much,  she  may  be  allowed  to  rest  for  a  few 
months,  or  even  a  year,  to  bring  her  up  to  the  desired  standard. 
These  remarks  apply  principally  to  choice  breeding,  or  as  it  i 
some  times  termed,  fancy  stock.    For  ordinary  milk  cows  which 
have  been  moderately  fed,  two  to  three  years,  according  to  th 
size  and  growth  they  attain,  is  a  proper  age  to  come  in,  afi:e 
which  they  must  be  milked  as  regularly  and  as  late  before  dryin 
as  possible. 

Breaking  Steers  should  be  commenced  when  two  or  three 
years  old.    Some  begin  with  the  calf,  accustoming  him  to  a  light 


NEAT  CATTLE. 


375 


yoke  and  occasional  training.  This  practice  will  do  as  a  pastime 
for  trustworthy  boys,  as  it  makes  them  gentle  and  manageable 
afterwards,  but  is  hardly  worth  a  man's  time.  If  always  care- 
fully handled  when  young,  they  will  be  found  tractable.  They 
should  at  first  be  placed  behind  a  pair  of  well-broke  cattle,  and 
should  not  be  put  to  hard  labor  until  quite  grown,  strong  and 
perfectly  accustomed  to  the  yoke.  If  properly  managed,  cattle 
may  be  trained  with  all  the  docility,  intelligence,  and  much  of  the 
activity  of  the  horse.  That  they  are  not,  is  more  frequently  the 
fault  of  their  masters. 

Management  of  Oxen. — To  procure  perfect  working  cattle, 
it  is  necessary  to  begin  with  the  proper  breed.  Many  parts  of 
the  country  will  furnish  such  as  are  well  suited  to  this  purpose. 
A  strong  dash  of  Devon  or  Hereford  blood  is  desirable  when  it 
needs  to  be  improved.  A  well-formed,  compact,  muscular  body; 
clean,  sinewy  limbs;  strong,  dense  bones;  large,  well-formed 
joints,  with  a  mild,  expressive  eye,  are  essential  for  good  working 
oxen.  After  breaking,  they  must  be  led  along  gently,  and  taught 
before  they  are  required  to  perform  their  task,  and  never  put  to  a 
load  which  they  cannot  readily  move,  nor  dulled  by  prolonged 
exertion  beyond  that  point  when  it  becomes  irksome.  A  gener- 
ous diet  is  necessary  to  keep  up  the  spirit  and  ability  of  cattle, 
when  there  is  hard  work  to  be  done.  The  horse  and  mule  are 
fed  with  their  daily  rations  of  grain,  when  at  hard  service,  and  if 
the  spirit  of  the  ox  is  to  be  maintained,  he  should  be  equally  well 
fed,  when  as  fully  employed.  Great  and  permanent  injury  is  the 
result  of  niggardly  feeding  and  severe  toil,  exacted  from  the 
uncomplaining  animal.  His  strength  decHnes,  his  spirit  flags, 
and,  if  this  treatment  be  continued,  he  rapidly  becomes  the  stupid, 
moping  brute,  which  is  shown  off  in  degrading  contrast  to  the 
more  spirited  horse  that  performs,  it  may  be,  one-half  the  labor 
on  twice  his  rations.  The  ox  should  be  as  httle  abused  by 
threats  and  whipping,  as  by  stinted  feed  and  overtasked  labor. 
Loud  and  repeated  halloing,  or  the  severe  use  of  the  lash,  is  as 
impohtic  as  it  it  is  cruel  and  disgraceful.  We  never  witness  this 
barbarity  without  wishing  the  brutes  could  change  places  long 


376 


AMERICAN  AaRICULTURE. 


enough  at  least  to  teach  the  biped  that  humanity,  by  his  own 
sufferings,  which  his  reason  and  sensibihty  have  failed  to  inspire. 
Clear  and  intelligible,  yet  low  and  gentle  words,  are  all  that  are 
necessary  to  guide  the  well-trained,  spirited  ox.  The  stick,  or 
whip,  is  needed  rather  to  indicate  the  precise  movement  desired, 
than  as  a  stimulant  or  means  of  punishment.  The  ox  under- 
stands a  moderate  tone  more  perfectly  than  a  boisterous  one;  for 
all  sounds  become  indistinct  as  they  augment.  He  loses  his 
sensitiveness  as  the  driver's  voice  increases,  till  at  last  he  becomes 
almost  as  brutal.  It  is  of  great  advantage  to  have  oxen  well 
trained  to  lacking.  They  may  soon  be  taught  by  beginning  with 
an  empty  cart  on  a  descent;  then  on  a  level;  then  with  an 
increasing  load,  or  up  hill,  till  the  cattle  will  back  nearly  the 
same  load  they  will  draw.  Some  oxen  have  a  bad  trick  of  hauling 
or  crowding.  Changing  to  opposite  sides,  longer  or  shorter  yokes, 
and,  more  than  all,  gentle  treatment,  are  the  only  remedies,  and 
those  not  unfrequently  fail.  Cattle  will  seldom  contract  this 
habit,  in  the  hands  of  a  judicious,  careful  driver.  The  yokes 
should  be  carefully  made  and  set  easy,  and  the  bows  fitted  to  the 
necks  and  properly  attached  to  the  yoke.  Cattle  are  liable  to 
sore  necks  if  used  in  a  storm,  and,  when  subject  to  this  exposure, 
they  must  be  well  rubbed  with  grease,  where  the  yoke  chafes 
them,  and  respite  from  work  should  be  allowed  till  the  necks  heal. 

The  Proper  Time  for  Fattening  Cattle,  must  depend 
on  their  previous  feeding  and  management,  the  breed,  and  the 
purposes  required.  The  improved  breeds  and  many  of  their 
crosses  will  mature  for  the  butcher  as  fully  at  three  or  four,  as 
inferior  cattle  at  five  to  seven  years  old.  If  pushed  rapidly  with 
proper  food,  they  will  of  course  be  ripe  much  sooner  than  if 
stinted.  When  cattle  have  to  be  purchased  for  work,  or  cows 
for  the  dairy,  it  becomes  an  object  to  keep  them  as  long  as  they 
can  be  made  profitable,  and  yet  be  turned  off  for  fattening  at  a 
fair  price.  We  have  seen  active  and  spirited  oxen  in  the  yoke 
at  twelve  or  fourteen ;  but  they  seldom  do  as  well  after  eight  or  ten 
years.   Old  cattle  are  liable  to  more  diseases  than  young,  are  less 


NEAT  CATTLE. 


377 


hardj,  and  recover  more  slowly  when  exposed  to  scanty  feed  or 
hard  usage.  They  also  fatten  with  more  difficulty,  and  their  meat 
is  inferior.  When  they  can  be  sold  advantageously  to  the  feeder, 
and  replaced  without  inconvenience,  it  is  found  to  be  most  profit- 
able to  turn  them  off  at  seven  or  eight  years.  They  will  by  that 
time  have  attained  full  maturity ;  they  will  feed  rapidly,  and  make 
the  largest  amount  of  good  beef.  If  there  are  extraordinary 
milkers  among  the  cows,  or  first-rate  workers  among  the  oxen,  it 
is  better  to  keep  them  as  long  as  they  maintain  their  full  vigor. 

Such  as  are  designed  for  the  shambles  the  ensuing  fall  or  winter, 
may  be  allowed  to  do  their  spring's  labor;  or,  if  cows,  they  may 
be  milked  into  summer  after  calving,  or  go  farrow  during  the 
previous  year.  They  should  early  be  put  on  the  best  summer 
feed,  which  is  better  to  be  occasionally  changed,  to  give  variety 
and  freshness,  and  keep  the  animal  in  good  appetite.  Let  the 
fattening  animals  have  the  best,  and  after  they  have  cropped  it  a 
while,  give  them  a  fresh  field,  and  the  younger  cattle,  or  sheep, 
can  follow  and  clear  off  the  remaining  herbage,  preparatory  to 
shutting  it  up  for  a  new  growth.  Some  prefer  an  extensive  range 
of  rich  feed,  which  is  unchanged  throughout  the  season,  and 
when  it  is  not  necessary  to  divide  the  pasture  with  the  other 
animals,  this  is  the  best  practice. 

The  selection  of  animals  for  stall  fattening  is  a  nice  point,  and 
none  without  a  practiced  eye  and  touch,  can  choose  such  as  will 
make  the  best  return  for  the  food  consumed.  The  characteris- 
tics of  choice  animals  heretofore  enumerated,  are  particularly 
essential  in  those  intended  for  profitable  fattening.  But  the  most 
important  of  all  is  that  firm  mellowness,  and  quick  elasticity  of 
touch,  which  unerringly  marks  the  kindly  feeder  and  profitable 
bullock.  "When  other  means  for  ascertaining  fail,  it  is  a  safe  rule 
to  select  the  best  conditioned  animals,  out  of  a  herd  of  grass  fed; 
for  if  all  were  of  equal  flesh  and  health,  when  turned  out,  those 
which  have  thriven  most  on  their  summer  pasture,  will  generally 
fatten  quickest  on  their  fall  and  winter  keep.  Only  the  best 
should  be  selected.    The  remainder,  after  consuming  the  coarses 


378 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


forage,' may  be  at  once  disposed  of  for  early  use.  From  repeated 
trials  in  those  districts  where  "grain  bears  a  high  price,  it  is  found 
that  the  carcass  of  stall-fed  animals  will  barely  return  the  value 
of  the  materials  consumed,  and  their  manure  is  generally  the 
only  compensation  for  the  time  and  attention  bestowed.  None 
but  choice,  thrifty  beasts  will  pay  for  their  food  and  attention, 
and  all  others  will  make  their  best  returns,  by  an  immediate  dis- 
posal after  the  surplus  fodder  is  gone. 

Stall-feeding  ought  to  be  commenced  early  in  the  season.  An 
ox  may  be  fed  in  a  box  stall,  or  if  accustomed  to  a  mate,  they 
do  better  by  tying  together  with  sufficient  room  to  lie  down,  yet 
not  so  near  as  to  allow  of  injuring  each  other.  The  building 
should  be  warm,  but  not  hot;  well  ventilated,  yet  having  no 
current  of  cold  air  passing  through;  and  as  dark  as  possible. 
The  stall  ought  to  be  kept  clean  and  dry,  and  a  deep  bed  of  clean 
straw  is  of  decided  advantage.  The  ox  should  be  first  fed  the 
inferior  and  most  perishable  roots  with  his  grain  and  dry  forage, 
and  his  food  should  be  gradually  increased  in  richness  as  he 
advances  towards  maturity.  The  food  and  water  should  be  given 
twice  a  day,  from  thoroughly  cleaned  mangers  or  troughs.  The 
animal  likes  a  change  of  food,  in  which  he  should  be  indulged  as 
often  as  may  be  necessary.  If  he  refuses  his  food,  a  temporary 
privation,  or  variety  is  essential.  "When  the  food  is  changed,  he 
should  be  moderately  fed  at  first,  till  he  becomes  accustomed  to 
it,  as  there  is  otherwise  danger  of  cloying,  which  is  always  inju- 
rious. The  moment  the  animal  has  done  feeding,  the  remainder 
of  the  food  ought  to  be  at  once  removed.  He  then  lies  down, 
and  if  undisturbed,  rests  quietly  till  the  proper  hour  induces  him 
again  to  look  for  his  accustomed  rations.  Kegularity  in  the  time 
of  feeding,  is  of  the  utmost  consequence.  An  animal  soon 
becomes  habituated  to  a  certain  hour,  and  if  it  be  delayed  beyond 
this,  he  is  restless  and  impatient,  which  are  serious  obstacles  to 
speedy  fattening. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


THE  DAIKY. 


Cows  FOR  THE  Dairy. — Froiii  what  has  been  said  on  the 
various  characteristics  of  the  different  breeds  of  cattle,  it  must  be 
evident,  that  no  very  definite  criteria  of  excellence  can  be  given 
for  all  good  dairy  cows.  But  there  are  certain  points  in  a 
good  milker  that  can  hardly  be  mistaken.  She  should  be 
descended  from  the  best  milking  stock;  her  head  should  be  small, 
or  of  medium  size;  muzzle  fine  and  nostrils  flexible  and  expanded; 
face  long,  slender  and  dishing;  cheeks  thin;  eyes  full,  mild  and 
prominent;  horns  delicate  and  waxy,  and  they  may  be  either 
branching,  lopped,  crumpled,  or  absent;  long,  thin,  lively  ear, 
rather  thinly  haired  on  the  inside;  neck  thin  and  small  at  its 
junction  with  the  head ;  deep  chest,  but  not  too  heavy  before ; 
back  level  and  broad;  well  ribbed;  belly  large;  low  flank;  wide 
thighs,  but  thin ;  short  legs,  and  standing  well  apart;  large  milking 
veins;  loose,  capacious  udder,  rather  square  in  form,  coming  well 
out  behind;  good  teats;  loose,  mellow  skin,  of  a  yellow  shade;  and 
a  fine,  thick  coat  of  glossy  hair ;  and  she  must  be  of  a  good  disposi- 
tion, and  free  from  tricks.  Yet,  with  all  the  skill  of  a  well  prac- 
ticed taste  in  the  selection  of  animals,  the  dairyman  will  frequently 
find  his  theories  and  results  at  sad  variance.  One  may  sometimes 
select  a  fine  animal,  with  every  appearance  of  good  milking  quali- 
ties, which  is  but  a  medium  cow  at  the  pail;  and  another,  that 
hardly  seems  worthy  of  notice,  and  which  sets  at  defiance  many 
estabhshed  milking  points  and  all  preconceived  notions  of  symme- 
try, may  yet  prove  a  good  milker.  A  cow  that  runs  to  flesh  while 
in  milk,  is  generally  an  indifferent  animal  for  the  dairy.  Perfec- 


380 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


tion  in  a  cow,  consists  in  converting  all  she  eats  into  milk  while 
yielding  it,  and  when  dry,  in  turning  all  she  consumes  into 
valuable  meat. 

Management  of  Dairy  '  Cows. — A  cow  may  have  her  first 
calf  when  between  two  and  three  years  of  age,  according  to  her 
size  and  developments.  After  calving,  if  in  cold  weather,  or  not 
at  pasture,  she  should  be  fed  twice  a  day  a  pail  full  of  warm 
water,  with  two  or  three  quarts  of  hght  meal  or  bran  in  it,  in 
addition  to  a  moderate  supply  of  her  common  food  for  two  or  three 
days.  Avoid  fat  in  a  breeding  cow.  Too  high  feeding  is  the 
cause  of  milk  fever,  caked  bag,  garget,  and  a  host  of  evils ;  and 
too  poor  feed  is  almost  equally  objectionable.  The  average 
time  of  a  cow  with  young  is  from  forty  to  forty-one  weeks; 
but  they  sometimes  go  only  thirty-four,  and  occasionally  over- 
run forty -four.  A  dry,  unoccupied  stall  or  yard  is  best  for 
her  to  calve  in;  and  if  there  is  any  serious  delay  or  difficulty 
in  the  operation,  she  may  be  assisted  by  placing  the  foetus  in 
the  right  position,  and  gently  pulling  it  with  every  throe  of 
the  dam.  After  the  calf  has  drawn  all  he  wants  at  morn- 
ing and  evening,  the  bag  should  be  thoroughly  and  quickly 
emptied  of  all  the  milk.  If  strong  and  vigorous,  the  calf 
is  the  best  doctor  for  garget  or  caked  bag.  He  may  be 
allowed  to  suck  the  cow  or  not,  at  the  option  of  the  owner; 
there  are  reasons  for  and  against  the  practice,  as  will  be  seen 
under  the  head  of  raising  calves,  and  each  person  must  deter- 
mine in  his  own  case,  on  which  side  the  balance  lies. 

Milking. — This  is  an  important  operation,  and  on  its  proper 
performance  depends  much  of  the  success  of  the  dairyman.  The 
work  should  be  done  in  a  stable  if  it  can  be,  the  cows  tied,  or 
stanchioned  as  in  their  winter  feeding,  thus  keeping  them  orderly 
and  not  exposed  to  storms,  as  when  milked  in  a  yard.  A  cow 
regularly,  gently,  yet  quickly  and  thoroughly  milked,  will  give 
much  more  than  if  neglected.  The  same  milkers  should  milk 
the  same  cows  daily  if  possible.  They  get  used  to  each  other, 
and  both  milker  and  cows  are  the  better  for  it.   If  a  herd  of  cows 


THE  DAIRY. 


381 


be  separated  into  two  divisions,  each  yielding  the  same  quantity  of 
milk,  and  one  is  given  to  a  good  milker,  and  the  other  to  a  shiftless 
or  lazy  one,  the  latter  will  speedily  reduce  his  milk  much  below  the 
quantity  obtained  by  the  former ;  and  if  the  milkers  then  exchange 
cows,  they  will  be  found  to  change  quantity,  too;  those  before 
affording  the  least  soon  giving  the  most.  An  indifferent  milker 
ought  never  to  be  tolerated  in  a  herd  j  good  ones  are  cheaper  at 
double  the  price.  It  is  best  to  milk  at  intervals  of  about  twelve 
hours,  which  may  be  done  when  pastures  are  convenient,  or  cows 
are  soiled  or  fed  in  the  yard.  But  as  this  is  not  often  the  case, 
they  should  be  milked  early  in  the  morning  and  turned  into 
pasture,  to  fill  themselves  before  the  sun  is  oppressive;  and  if 
they  are  to  be  kept  up  at  night,  let  them  browse  in  the  pasture  as 
long  as  possible  before  they  are  brought  to  the  yard  or  stable. 

MILK 

Is  produced  from  the  females  of  all  the  warm-blooded  animals 
which  are  enumerated  among  the  mammalise.  The  milk  of 
several  animals  is  employed  for  domestic  purposes,  among  different 
nations.  That  of  the  camel  is  used  by  the  Arabs;  the  milk  of 
the  ass  by  the  Spaniards,  the  Maltese,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Levant;  that  of  the  mare  by  the  Cossacks,  the  Kirgheez,  and 
other  Tartars ;  and  that  of  the  goat,  the  ewe  and  the  cow  by  most 
of  the  ancient,  and,  with  few  exceptions,  by  every  modern 
European  nation.  "Within  the  last  century,  however,  the  use  of 
all,  excepting  cow's  milk,  has  been  almost  entirely  discarded  among 
the  most  highly  civihzed  people.  The  cow  is  the  only  animal 
which  is  employed  in  America  for  producing  milk,  excepting  in 
the  vicinity  of  some  of  our  large  cities,  where  the  goat  is  some- 
times used  by  foreign  emigrants.  .  For  milk  uses,  the  cow  is  pre- 
eminently fitted,  and  the  modern  improvement  of  this  invaluable 
animal,  has  carried  her  product  of  milk  almost  as  far  as  can 
be  reasonably  looked  for  from  a  given  amount  of  food;  and 
although  this  is  of  about  the  average  richness  of  the  goat 
and  ewe,  and  before  that  of  the  ass,  the  quantity  she  yields  is 


382 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTUEE. 


frequently  as  eight  to  one  in  favor  of  the  cow  over  the  first  two 
competitors.  As  a  milk-giving  animal,  the  cow  is  the  best  fitted 
for  the  purposes  of  civihzed  man,  and  she  is  made  to  contribute, 
not  only  to  his  health,  his  comfort  and  his  economy,  but  to  many 
of  his  choicest  luxuries.  Milk  contains  every  element  of  nutrition 
necessary  to  animal  existence;  and  man  can  subsist  with  unim- 
paired health,  if  hmited  to  this  food  alone. 

The  Constituents  of  Milk  are  butter,  which  varies  from 
2  to  6  per  cent. ;  casein  or  cheese,  usually  4  to  5,  but  sometimes 
varying  from  3  to  15  per  cent.;  (the  last  excessive  quantity 
yielded  only  by  the  first  milk  after  calving;)  milk  sugar,  4  to  6  ; 
salts  or  saline  matter,  0.2  to  0.6;  and  water,  80  to  89. 

There  is  much  diversity  in  the  product  and  quality  of  milk  from 
cows  of  the  same  breed,  the  same  food,  and  other  circumstances 
and  conditions  apparently  equal.  Thus,  of  a  herd  of  twenty -two, 
one  gave  84  quarts  in  one  week,  which  afforded  3M  pounds  of 
butter;  two  others,  in  the  same  time,  gave  86,  yielding  5)^ 
pounds;  and  a  fourth  gave  88  quarts,  making  7  pounds.  The 
amount  of  butter,  however,  which  a  given  quantity  of  milk  will 
produce,  is  not  the  only  criterion  of  the  value  of  the  milk,  except 
for  this  purpose  alone.  Some  cows  will  yield  more  butter,  others 
will  produce  more  cheese;  while,  for  consumption,  another  m.ay 
partially  compensate,  in  the  increased  quantity  of  milk-sugar  and 
the  saline  matters,  for  a  deficiency  of  both  the  other  ingredients. 
But  for  dairy  purposes,  butter  and  cheese  are  the  only  measure 
of  the  value  of  milk;  and  a  cow  is  esteemed  good  or  indifferent 
as  she  gives  one  or  the  other  in  the  greatest  abundance. 

Circumstances  which  modify  the  Quantity  and  Char- 
acter OF  Milk. — Besides  the  accidental  variation  in  the  quan- 
tity and  quality  of  milk  in  different  animals  before  adverted  to, 
there  are  many  reliable  causes  which  influence  both.  Of  these, 
parentage  has  a  most  decided  and  uniform  influence,  fi-equently 
modified,  however,  in  the  particular  individual,  by  some  personal 
and  controlling  causes.  But  a  cow  whose  maternal  ancestry  on 
both  sides  are  choice  milkers,  is  almost  certain  to  resemble  them. 


THE  DAIRY. 


383 


Food  influences  the  quantity  rather  than  the  quahtj.  Boussin- 
gault  tried  numerous  experiments,  with  cows  fed  on  various  kinds 
of  food,  and  found  the  difference  hardly  appreciable  in  the  qual- 
ity of  milk.  Its  true  benefit  is  to  be  looked  for,  in  the  increased 
quantity,  through  which  the  valuable  ingredients  are  distributed 
in  nearly  the  same  proportion,  as  when  the  product  is  materially 
lessened.  By  quality  we  mean  to  be  understood,  the  amount  of 
the  ingredients,  valuable  for  nutrition  only ;  for  it  is  certain,  that 
there  is  a  rich  aromatic  flavor,  not  only  in  milk,  but  in  butter  and 
cheese,  which  is  afforded  in  various  articles  of  food,  and  especially 
by  the  fresh  green  herbage  which  abounds  in  the  pastures  from 
spring  to  autumn.  Activity  or  rest  has  a  great  effect  on  both 
quantity  and  quality.  The  less  action  and  the  more  quiet  and 
rest,  the  greater  the  amount  of  milk  and  butter.  But  exercise  is 
absolutely  essential  to  the  production  of  cheese.  Butter  may  be 
made  from  cows  confined  in  a  stable,  but  cheese  can  only  be  prof- 
itably made  by  animals  at  pasture,  or  by  soiling  on  green  food. 
It  is  supposed  by  physiologists,  that  the  exercise  in  gathering 
their  food,  rather  than  any  peculiarity  in  its  character,  is  neces- 
sary to  convert  the  nitrogenized  tissues  into  the  nitrogenized 
principle  of  caseum  or  cheese.  The  time  from  calving,  has  also 
its  effect.  The  first  milk  drawn  from  a  cow  after  calving,  has 
been  found  to  yield  over  fifteen  per  cent,  of  casein,  while  in  its 
ordinary  state  it  gives  only  three  to  five  and  a-half.  As  the 
quantity  of  milk  diminishes  in  a  farrow  cow,  the  quality  improves 
within  certain  limits.  Pregnancy  affects  the  quahty  injuriously, 
and  especially  towards  its  latter  stages;  and  a  cow  that  is  predis- 
posed to  giving  milk,  should  be  dried  off  a  few  weeks  before  its" 
expiration,  as  it  is  then  unfit  for  use.  Fat  cows  give  poorer  milk 
than  such  as  are  moderately  leaii;  and  young  animals  do  not 
come  up  to  the  maximum  of  their  quahty,  till  afler  their  third  or 
fourth  calving.  The  milk  first  drawn  from  the  udder,  will  yield 
less  proportion  of  cream,  than  the  strippings;  and  the  milk  which  . 
is  drawn  three  times  a  day,  is  greatly  inferior  to  such  as  is  taken 
but  once,  though  the  latter  is  less  abundant.    As  a  rule,  the  milk 


384 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


should  be  drawn  twice  during  the  twenty-four  hours.  Excite- 
ment, or  fretfuhiess;  change  of  locahty,  or  to  a  different  herd 
with  new  companions ;  separation  from  her  calf ;  periodical  heat ; 
annoyance  from  flies,  or  worry  from  dogs;  exposure  to  storms, 
severe  cold,  or  an  oppressive  sun;  and  many  similar  causes, 
diminish  the  quantity  of  milk. 

Dr.  Playfair  found  that  the  quantity  of  butter  in  the  evening 
milk,  after  the  cow  had  been  at  pasture  all  day,  was  3.7  per  cent., 
while  the  casein  was  5.4 ;  after  lying  quietly  all  night,  the  milk 
from  the  same  cow  on  the  following  morning,  contained  5.6  per 
cent,  of  butter,  and  only  3.9  of  casein.  In  stabling  the  cow, 
the  butter  was  invariably  in  greater  proportion  than  when  allowed 
to  ramble  in  the  pasture ;  and  the  casein  with  a  single  exception, 
was  equally  diminished. 

Cream. — If  milk  be  immediately  set  away  in  shallow  vessels, 
after  being  taken  from  the  cow,  the  cream  rises  to  the  surface, 
and  carries  with  it  most  of  the  butter  contained  in  the  milk,  and 
along  with  it  much  of  its  casein.  Hence  the  great  nutritive  prop- 
erties of  butter-milk,  which  retains  the  casein  in  very  large  pro- 
portions, much  of  it  being  rejected  by  the  butter  in  its  separation 
from  the  cream.  A  temperature  below  34°,  will  prevent  the 
cream  from  rising  in  any  considerable  quantity,  and  preserve  the 
milk  unaltered  for  some  weeks.  Coagulating  the  milk  from  any 
cause,  will  equally  prevent  the  separation  of  the  cream.  The 
elevation  of  temperature  within  certain  limits,  hastens  the  sepa- 
ration. Thus,  at  50°,  the  cream  will  mostly  have  risen  in  36 
hours;  at  55°,  in  24;  at  68°,  in  18  or  20,  and  at  77°,  in  10  or 
12  hours.  Heating  the  milk  near  the  boiling  point,  and  then  set- 
ting it  away  and  allowing  it  to  remain  undisturbed,  will  soon 
cause  the  cream  to  rise.  In  the  celebrated  Orange  dairy,  near 
Baltimore,  Md.,  this  system  was  practiced,  by  which,  not  only 
most  of  the  cream  was  secured  for  butter,  but  in  consequence  of 
its  rapid  separation,  the  skimmed  milk  was  sent  to  market  appar- 
ently fresh;  and  the  scalding  imparted  to  it  an  agreeable  flavor 
and  apparent  richness,  which  it  did  not  really  possess.  We  do 
not  advise  this  practice  where  the  sale  of  fresh  milk  is  an  object. 


THE  DAIRY. 


385 


BUTTER. 

Sour  Cream. — Cream,  for  the  purpose  of  churning,  is  usually- 
allowed  to  become  sour.  It  ought  .to  be  at  least  one  day  old,  but 
may  with  advantage  be  kept  several  days  in  cool  weather — if  it 
b@  previously  well  freed  from  milk  and  be  frequently  stirred  to 
keep  it  from  curdling.  This  sour  cream  is  put  into  the  churn 
and  worked  in  the  usual  way  till  the  butter  separates.  This  is 
collected  into  lumps,  well  beat  and  squeezed  free  from  the  milk, 
and  in  some  dairies  is  washed  with  pure  cold  water  as  long  as 
the  water  is  rendered  milky.  In  other  locahties  the  butter  is  not 
washed,  but,  after  being  well  beat,  is  carefully  freed  from  the 
remaining  milk  by  repeated  squeezings  and  dryings  with  a  clean 
cloth.  Both  methods,  no  doubt,  have  their  advantages.  In  the 
same  circumstances  the  washed  butter  may  be  more  easily  pre- 
served in  the  fresh  state,  while  the  unwashed  butter  will  probably 
possess  a  higher  flavor. 

Sweet  Cream  may  be  put  into  the  churn  and  the  butter  be 
obtained,  but  in  most  cases  it  requires  more  labor  and  longer  time^ 
without,  in  the  opinion  of  good  judges,  affording  in  general  a 
finer  quality  of  butter.  In  all  cases  the  cream  becomes  sour  dur- 
ing the  agitation  and  before  the  butter  begins  distinctly  to  form. 

Sourness  of  the  Cream. — For  the  production  of  the  best  but- 
ter, it  is  necessary  that  the  cream  should  be  sufficiently  sour 
before  it  is  put  into  the  cWn.  Butter  made  from  sweet  cream 
is  neither  good  in  quahty  nor  large  in  quantity,  and  longer  time 
is  required  in  churning.    It  is  an  unprofitable  method. 

Churning  the  milk^  with  the  cream  upon  it,  when  soured  to 
thickening,  is  much  practiced  by  many  excellent  butter  makers. 
We  do  not  know  of  any  particular  difference  in  the  quahty  of 
the  butter  produced  from  it,  than  when  the  cream  alone  is  churned. 

The  alleged  advantages  of  churning  the  entire  milh^  may  be 
thus  stated.  The  proper  temperature  can  be  readily  obtained 
both  in  winter  and  summer.  A  hundred  gallons  of  entire  milk 
will  give  in  summer  five  per  cent,  more  butter  than  the  cream 
from  the  same  quantity  of  milk  will  give.  Butter  of  the  best 
17 


386 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


quality  can  be  obtained,  without  difficulty,  both  in  winter  and 
summer.  No  special  attention  to  circumstances  or  change  of 
method  is  at  any  time  required.  The  churning  in  winter  and 
summer  is  alike  simple  and  easy.  The  butter  is  not  only  of  the 
best  quality  while  fresh,  but  is  also  best  for  long  keeping,  when 
properly  cured  or  salted. 

Quickness  m  Churning— The  more  quickly  milk  or  cream  is 
churned,  the  paler,  the  softer,  and  the  less  rich  the  butter.  The 
churning  ought  always  to  be  regular,  slower  in  warm  weather 
that  the  butter  may  not  be  soft  and  white,  and  quicker  in  winter 
that  the  proper  temperature  may  be  kept  up. 

Over-  Churning. — When  the  process  of  churning  is  continued 
after  the  full  separation  of  the  butter,  it  loses  its  fine  yellowish, 
waxy  appearance,  and  becomes  soft  and  hght  colored.  The 
weight  of  the  butter,  however,  is  said  to  be  considerably 
increased. 

Temperature  of  the  Milk  or  Cream, — Much  also  depends  upon 
the  temperature  of  the  milk  or  cream  when  the  churning  is  com- 
menced. Cream  when  put  into  the  churn  should  never  be  warm- 
er than  55°  Fahrenheit.  It  rises  during  the  churning  from  4°  to 
10°  above  its  original  temperature.  When  the  whole  milk  is 
churned,  the  temperature  should  be  raised  to  65°,  which  is  best 
done  by  pouring  in  hot  water  into  the  churn  while  the  milk  is 
kept  in  motion.  In  winter,  either  of  these  temperatures  may  be 
easily  attained.  In  cold  weather  it  is  often  necessary  to  add  hot 
water  to  the  cream  to  raise  it  even  to  55°.  But  in  summer,  and 
especially  in  hot  weather,  it  is  difficult,  even  in  cool  and  well 
ordered  dairies,  (without  the  use  of  ice,)  to  keep  the  cream  down 
to  this  comparatively  low  temperature.  Hence,  if  the  cream  be 
then  churned,  a  second  rate  butter,  at  best,  is  all  that  can  be 
obtained. 

Cleanliness  is  peculiarly  necessary  to  the  manufacture  of  good 
butter.  Cream  is  remarkable  for  the  rapidity  with  which  it 
absorbs  and  becomes  tainted  by  any  unpleasant  odors.  It  is  very 
necessary  that  the  air  of  the  dairy  should  be  sweet,  that  it  should 


THE  DAIRY. 


387 


be  often  renewed,  and  that  it  should  be  open  in  no  direction  from 
which  bad  odors  can  come. 

The  statement  of  J.  T.  Lansing,  who  received  the  first  pre- 
mium for  butter  from  the  New- York  State  Agricultural  Society, 
is  as  follows: 

1.  The  number  of  cows  kept  is  ten. 

2.  Keep  them  stabled  through  the  inclement  season;  feed 
them  from  three  to  four  times  per  day  with  good  hay  or  green 
stalks;  when  near  coming  in,  add  some  oats,  barley,  or  corn 
cracked.  In  summer,  good  pasture,  with  living  water  accessible 
at  all  times,  and  plenty  of  salt. 

3.  The  treatment  of  milk  and  cream  before  churning,  is  to  strain 
the  milk  in  tin  pans  and  place  them  in  a  cool  cellar  for  the  cream 
to  rise.  When  sufficiently  risen,  separate  the  gream  from  the 
milk;  put  in  stone  jars,  well  prepared  before  churning. 

4.  The  mode  of  churning  in  summer,  is  to  rinse  the  churn  with 
cold  water ;  then  turn  in  the  cream,  and  add  to  each  jar  of  cream 
put  in  the  churn,  full  one-fourth  of  the  same  quantity  of  cold 
water.  The  churn  used  is  a  patent  one,  moved  by  hand  with  a 
crank,  having  paddles  attached,  and  so  constructed  as  to  warm 
the  milk,  if  too  cold,  with  hot  water,  without  mixing  them 
together.  The  milk  and  cream  receive  the  same  treatment  in 
winter  as  in  summer;  and  in  churning,  use  hot  instead  of  cold 
water,  if  necessary. 

5.  The  method  of  freeing  the  butter  from  the  milk,  is  to  wash 
the  butter  with  cold  water  till  it  shows  no  color  of  the  milk,  by 
the  use  of  a  ladle. 

6.  In  salting  the  butter,  use  the  best  kind  of  Liverpool  sack 
salt ;  the  quantity  varies  according  to  the  state  in  which  the  but- 
ter is  taken  from  the  churn;  if  soft,  more,  if  hard,  less,  always 
taking  the  taste  for  the  surest  guide.  Add  no  saltpeter,  nor  other 
substances. 

7.  The  best  time  for  churning  is  the  morning,  in  hot  weather, 
and  to  keep  the  butter  cool  till  put  down. 

8.  The  best  mode  of  preserving  butter  in  and  through  the 
summer  and  winter,  is  as  follows :  The  vessel  is  a  stone  jar,  clean 


388 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


and  sweet.    Tlie  mode  of  putting  it  down  is  to  put  in  a  chum 
ing  of  butter,  and  put  on  strong  brine;  let  it  remain  on  until  the 
next  churning  is  ready  to  put  down,  and  so  on  till  the  jar  is  filled ; 
then  cover  it  over  with  fine  salt,  the  same  to  remain  on  till  used. 

Mr.  McWilliams,  of  Orange  countj,  the  celebrity  of  whose 
butter  is  unsurpassed,  thus  details  his  method  of  butter  making : 

"Our  practice  is  not  to  churn  the  milk  until  it  becomes  thick 
or  loppered;  the  milk  and  cream  is  then  churned  together.  The 
temperature  of  the  milk  is  about  50  degrees.  In  warm  weather 
about  a  quart  of  cold  water  is  put  in  each  pan  before  the  milk  is 
strained,  so  as  to  keep  it  sweet  as  long  as  possible.  The  cellar 
floor  is  brick.  This  in  warm  weather  is  daily  cleansed  with  cold 
water.  A  drain  from  the  cellar  carries  ofi*  the  water  thus  applied. 
The  churn  is  filled  about  half  full  with  milk,  with  the  addition  of 
two  pails  of  cold  water  before  starting  the  churn.  In  cold 
weather  the  same  quantity  of  warm  water  is  applied.  When 
the  churning  is  finished,  which  usually  occupies  about  two  hours 
of  time,  there  are  then  two  more  pails  of  cold  water  apphed  to 
raise  the  butter  and  cool  it.  The  butter  is  then  taken  out  of  the 
churn  and  put  in  a  large  tray;  this  is  immediately  filled  with  cold 
water  and  the  butter  carefully  washed ;  after  which  the  water  is 
thrown  off.  The  butter  now  undergoes  the  process  of  salting,  and 
is  then  placed  in  a  cool  situation  where  it  stands  about  an  hour, 
and  worked  carefully  over.  This  finished  it  is  placed  in  the  same 
situation  as  before,  where  it  stands  three  or  four  hours,  and  is 
again  worked  over ;  again  replaced  for  five  or  six  hours,  when  it 
is  worked  over  for  the  third  time.  It  is  now  replaced,  where  it 
stands  till  the  next  morning  and  worked  over  for  the  fourth  time. 
A  small  quantity  of  nitre  is  then  put  in  the  butter.  Thus  fin- 
ished it  is  placed  in  firkins  holding  about  eighty-five  pounds. 
Previous  to  packing,  the  firkin  is  scalded  with  hot  water,  rinsed 
and  cooled  with  cold  water,  then  rubbed  all  around  with  fine  salt; 
this  prevents  the  butter  from  adhering  to  the  sides  of  the  firkin. 
"When  the  firkin  is  full,  a  hnen  cloth  is  placed  over  the  top  of 
the  butter;  on  this  cloth  a  covering  of  salt  is  put  one  inch  deep. 


THE  DAIRY.  389 

and  cold  water  enougli  added  to  it  to  form  a  brine.  It  then  stands 
till  it  is  to  be  sent  to  market,  when  the  cloth  and  salt  are  removed, 
the  firkin  turned  down,  the  top  of  the  butter  in  the  keg  washed 
with  cold  water,  and  the  pickle  drained  off.  The  firkin  is  now 
neatly  headed  up  and  sent  to  market." 

The  salt  added  to  the  butter  should  be  from  l-24tli  to  1-2 8th 
of  its  weight,  or  two-thirds  of  an  ounce  to  a  pound,  and  this  m.ust 
be  of  the  best  quality.  All  the  butter- milk  must  be  thoroughly 
extracted  by  -repeated  washings,  and  when  completed,  the  butter 
should  be  immediately  packed^  and  not  a  particle  of  air  allowed 
to  come  in  contact  with  it,  till  open  for  the  table. 

Butter  factories  have  of  late  been  introduced  into  some  of  the 
Eastern  counties  of  New  York,  and  worked  with  success. 
■  Their  chief  advantages  are  the  aggregation  of  large  quantities  of 
milk  from  many  farms,  thus  cheapening  the  labor  and  producing 
butter  of  uniform  quality. 

CHEESE. 

The  circumstances  affecting  the  Quality  of  Cheese. — All  cheese 
consists  essentially  of  the  curd  mixed  with  a  certain  portion  of 
the  fatty  matter,  and  of  the  sugar  of  milk.  But  differences  in 
the  quahty  of  the  milk,  in  the  proportion  in  which  the  several 
constituents  of  milk  are  mixed  together,  or  in  the  general  mode 
of  dairy  management,  give  rise  to  varieties  of  cheese  almost 
without  number.  Nearly  every  dairy  district  produces  one  or 
more  qualities  of  cheese,  peculiar  to  itself. 

Natural  difference  in  the  Milk. — It  is  obvious  that  whatever 
gives  rise  to  natural  differences  in  the  quality  of  the  milk  must 
affect  also  that  of  the  cheese  prepared  from  it.  If  the  milk  be 
poor  in  butter,  so  must  the  cheese  be.  If  the  pasture  be  such  as 
"to  give  a  milk  rich  in  cream,  the  cheese  will  partake  of  the  same 
quality.  If  the  herbage  or  other  food  affect  the  taste  of  the  milk 
or  cream,  it  will  also  modify  the  flavor  of  the  cheese. 

Creamed  or  Uncreamed  Milk. — Still  further  differences  are 
produced  according  to  the  proportion  of  cream  which  is  left  in  or 


390 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


is  added  to  the  milk.  Thus,  if  cream  only  be  employed,  we  have 
the  rich  cream  cheese^  which  must  be  eaten  in  a  comparatively 
recent  state.  Or,  if  the  cream  of  the  previous  night's  milking  be 
added  to  the  new  milk  of  the  morning,  we  may  have  such  cheese 
as  the  Stilton  of  England,  or  the  small,- soft,  and  rich  Brie  cheeses 
so  much  esteemed  in  France.  If  the  entire  milk  only  be  used, 
we  have  such  cheeses  as  the  Cheshire^  the  Double  Gloucester ,  the 
Cheddar,  the  Wiltshire,  and  the  Dunlop  cheeses  of  Britain,  the 
Kinnegad  cheese,  I  beheve,  of  Ireland,  and  the  Goujda  and  Edam 
cheeses  of  Holland.  Even  here,  however,  it  makes  a  difference 
whether  the  warm  milk  from  the  cow  is  curdled  alone,  or  whether 
it  is  mixed  with  the  milk  of  the  evening  before.  Many  persons 
are  of  opinion  that  cream  which  has  once  been  separated,  can 
never  be  so  well  mixed  again  with  the  milk;  that  a  portion  of 
the  fatty  matter  shall  not  flow  out  with  the  whey  and  render  the 
cheese  less  rich.  If,  again,  the  cream  of  the  evening's  milk  be 
removed,  and  the  skimmed  milk  added  to  the  new  milk  of  the 
next  morning,  such  cheeses  are  of  inferior  quality.  If  the  cream 
be  taken  from  all  the  milk,  the  cheese  is  still  inferior  to  the  last. 

Butter-milk  Cheese. — But  poor  or  butterless  cheese  will  also 
differ  in  quality  according  to  the  state  of  the  milk  from  which  it 
is  extracted.  If  the  new  milk  be  allowed  to  stand  to  throw  up 
its  cream,  and  this  be  then  removed  in  the  usual  way,  the  ordi- 
nary skimmed-milk  cheese  will  be  obtained  by  adding  rennet  to 
the  milk.  But  if,  instead  of  skimming,  we  allow  the  milk  to 
stand  till  it  begins  to  sour,  and  then  remove  the  butter  by  churning 
the  whole,  we  obtain  the  milk  in  a  sour  state  (butter-milk.)  From 
this  milk  the  curd  separates  naturally  by  gentle  heating.  But 
being  thus  prepared  from  sour  milk,  and  without  the  use  of  rennet, 
butter-milk  cheese  differs  more  or  less  in  quality  from  that  which 
is  made  from  sweet  skimmed  milk.  The  acid  in  the  butter-milk, 
especially  after  it  has  stood  a  day  or  two,  is  capable  of  coagu- 
lating new  milk  also,  and  thus,  by  mixing  more  or  less  sweet 
milk  with  the  butter-milk,  before  it  is  warmed,  several  other 
qualities  of  mixed  butter  and  sweet  milk  cheese  may  readily  be 


0 


THE  DAIRY.  391 

manufactured.  This  article  is,  however,  of  little  use,  only  when 
eaten  fresh,  when  it  is  a  healthy  and  palatable  food. 

Whey  Cheese. — The  whey  which  separates  from  the  curd,  and 
especially  the  white  whey,  which  is  pressed  out  towards  the  last, 
contains  a  portion  of  curd,  and  not  unfrequently  a  considerable 
quantity  of  butter,  also.  "When  the  whey  is  heated,  the  curd 
and  butter  rise  to  the  surface,  and  are  readily  skimmed  off.  This 
curd  alone  will  often  yield  a  cheese  of  excellent  quality,  and  so 
rich  in  butter,  that  a  very  good  imitation  of  Stilton  cheese  may 
sometimes  be  made  with  alternate  layers  of  new  milk  curd  and 
this  curd  of  whey. 

Mixtures  of  Vegetable  Substances  with  the  Milk, — New  varieties 
of  cheese  are  formed  by  mixing  vegetable  substances  with  the 
curd.  A  green  decoction  of  two  parts  of  sage  leaves,  one  of 
marigold,  and  a  little  parsley,  gives  its  color  to  the  green  cheese 
of  Wiltshire;  some  even  mix  up  the  entire  leaves  with  the  curd. 
The  celebrated  Schalzieger  cheese  of  Switzerland  is  made  by 
crushing  the  skim-milk  cheese,  after  it  is  several  months  old,  to 
fine  powder,  in  a  mill,  mixing  it  then  with  one-tenth  of  its  weight 
of  fine  salt,  and  one-twentieth  of  the  powdered  leaves  of  the 
mellilot  trefoil,  {trifolium  melilotus  cerulea^)  and  afterwards  with 
oil  or  butter,  working  the  whole  into  a  paste,  which  is  pressed 
and  carefully  dried.  The  green  decoction  of  garden  sage  is 
frequently  used  by  American  dairymen,  to  make  the  article  called 
"sage  cheese,"  for  a  variety  of  home  consumption,  but  not  exten- 
sively for  sale. 

Preparation  op  Rennet. — Rennet  is  prepared  from  the 
salted  stomach  or  intestines  of  the  suckling  calf,  the  un weaned 
lamb,  the  young  kid,  or  the  young  pig.  In  general,  however, 
the  stomach  of  the  calf  is_  preferred,  and  there  are  various  ways 
of  curing  and  preserving  it.  The  stomach  of  the  newly  killed 
animal  contains  a  quantity  of  curd,  derived  from  the  milk  on 
which  it  has  been  fed.  In  most  districts  it  is  usual  to  remove,  by 
a  gentle  washing,  the  curd  and  slimy  matters  which  are  present 
in  the  stomach,  as  they  are  supposed  to  impart  a  strong  taste  to 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 

the  cheese.  The  calf  should  have  a  copious  draught  of  milk 
shortly  before  it  is  killed,  in  order  that  the  stomach  may  contain 
a  larger  quantity  of  the  valuable  curd. 

Salting  the  Stomach. — In  the  mode  of  salting  the  stomach 
similar  differences  prevail.  Some  merely  put  a  few  handfuls  of 
salt  into  and  around  it,  then  roll  it  together,  and  hang  it  near  the 
chimney  to  dry.  Others  salt  it  in  a  pickle  for  a  few  days,  and 
then  hang  it  up  to  dry;  while  others,  again,  pack  several  of  them 
in  layers,  with  much  salt  both  within  and  without,  and  preserve 
them  in  a  cool  place  till  the  cheese  making  season  of  the  following 
year.  They  are  then  taken  out,  drained  from  the  brine,  spread 
upon  a  table,  sprinkled  with  salt,  which  is  rolled  in  with  a  wooden 
roller,  and  then  hung  up  to  dry.  In  some  foreign  countries,  again, 
the  recent  stomach  is  minced  very  fine,  mixed  with  some  spoon- 
fuls of  salt  and  bread-crumb  into  a  paste,  put  into  a  bladder,  and 
then  dried.  In  whatever  way  the  stomach  or  intestine  of  "the 
calf  is  prepared  and  preserved,  the  almost  universal  opinion  seems 
to  be,  that  it  should  be  kept  for  ten  or  twelve  months  before  it  is 
capable  of  yielding  the  best  and  strongest  rennet.  If  newer  than 
twelve  months,  the  rennet  is  thought  to  make  the  cheese  heave 
or  swell,  and  become  full  of  eyes  or  holes. 

Making  the  Rennet. — In  making  the  rennet  different  customs 
also  prevail.  The  usual  way  is  to  take  the  entire  stomachs,  and 
pour  upon  them  from  one  to  three  quarts  of  water  for  each 
stomach,  and  to  allow  them  to  infuse  for  several  days.  If  only 
one  has  been  infused,  and  the  rennet  is  intended  for  immediate 
use,  the  infusion  requires  only  to  be  skimmed  and  strained.  But 
if  several  be  infused,  as  many  as  have  been  provided  for  the 
whole  season,  about  two  quarts  of  water  are  taken  for  each,  and, 
after  standing  not  more  than  two  days,  the  infusion  is  poured  off, 
and  is  completely  saturated  with  salt.  During  the  summer,  it  is 
constantly  skimmed,  and  fresh  salt  added  from  time  to  time.  Or 
a  strong  brine  may  at  once  be  poured  upon  the  skins,  and  the 
infusion,  when  the  skins  are  taken  out,  may  be  kept  for  a  length 
of  time.    Some  even  recommend  that  the  liquid  rennet  should 


I 


THE  DAIRY. 


393 


not  be  used  until  it  is  at  least  two  months  old.  When  thus  kept, 
however,  it  is  indispensable  that  the  water  should  be  fully 
saturated  with  salt. 

In  making  rennet,  some  use  pure  water  only;  others  prefer 
clear  whey;  others  a  decoction  of  leaves,  such  as  those  of  the 
sweet-briar,  the  dog-rose,  and  the  bramble,  or  of  aromatic  herbs 
and  flowers ;  while  others,  again,  put  in  lemons,  cloves,  mace,  or 
whisky.  These  various  practices  are  adopted  for  the  purpose  of 
making  the  rennet  keep  better;  of  lessening  its  unpleasant  smell; 
of  preventing  any  unpleasant  taste  it  may  give  to  the  curd;  or, 
finally,  of  directly  improving  the  flavor  of  the  cheese.  The 
acidity  of  the  lemon  will,  no  doubt,  increase  also  the  coagulating 
power  of  any  rennet  to  which  it  may  be  added.  The  rennet 
thus  prepared  is  poured  into  the  milk,  previously  raised  to  the 
temperature  of  90°  or  95°  Fahrenheit,  and  is  intimately  mixed 
with  it.  The  quantity  which  it  is  necessary  to  add  varies  with 
the  quality  of  the  rennet,  from  a  table-spoonful  to  half  a  pint  for 
thirty  or  forty  gallons  of  milk.  The  time  necessary  for  the  com- 
plete fixing  of  the  curd  varies  also  from  fifteen  minutes  to  an 
hour,  or  even  an  hour  and  a  half  The  chief  causes  of  this 
variation  are  the  temperature  of  the  milk,  and  the  quality  and 
quantity  of  the  rennet  employed. 

Different  Qualities  of  Cheese. — The  temperature  of  new 
or  entire  milk,  when  the  rennet  is  added,  should  be  raised  to  about 
95°  Fahrenheit;  that  of  skimmed  milk  need  not  be  quite  so  high. 
If  the  milk  be  warmer,  the  curd  is  hard  and  tough ;  if  colder,  it 
is  soft  and  difficult  to  obtain  free  fi-om  the  whey.  "When  the 
former  happens  to  be  the  case,  a  portion  of  the  first  whey  that 
separates  may  be  taken  out  into  another  vessel,  allowed  to  cool, 
and  then  poured  in  again.  If  it  prove  to  have  been  too  cool,  hoi 
milk  or  water  may  be  added  to  it;  or  a  vessel  containing  hot 
water  may  be  put  into  it  before  the  curdling  commences ;  or  the 
first  portion  of  whey  that  separates,  may  be  heated  and  poured 
again  upon  the  curd.  The  quality  of  the  cheese,  however,  will 
always  be  more  or  less  affected,  when  it  happens  to  be  necessary 
17* 


394 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


to  adopt  any  of  these  remedies.  To  make  the  best  cheese,  the 
true  temperature  should  always  be  attained,  as  nearly  as  possible, 
before  the  rennet  is  added. 

Mode  in  which  the  Milk  is  Warmed. — If,  as  is  the  case  in  many 
family  dairies,  the  milk  be  warmed  in  brass  caldrons,  great  care 
must  be  taken  that  it  is  not  singed,  or  fire-fanged,  A  very  slight 
inattention  may  cause  this  to  be  the  case,  and  the  taste  of  the 
cheese  is  sure  to  be  more  or  less  affected  by  it.  It  is  desirable  in 
this  heating  not  to  raise  the  temperature  higher  than  is  necessary, 
as  a  great  heat  is  apt  to  give  an  oiliness  to  the  fatty  matter  of  the 
milk. 

The  time  during  which  the  curd  stands  is  also  of  importance. 
It  should  be  broken  up  as  soon  as  the  milk  is  fully  coagulated. 
The  longer  it  stands  after  this,  the  harder  and  tougher  it  will 
become. 

The  quality  of  the  rennet  is  of  much  importance  not  only  in 
regard  to  the  certainty  of  the  coagulation,  but  also  to  the  flavor 
of  the  cheese. 

The  quantity  of  rennet  added  ought  to  be  regulated  as  carefully 
as  the  temperature  of  the  milk.  Too  much  renders  the  curd 
tough;  too  little  causes  the  loss  of  much  time,  and  may  permit  a 
larger  portion  of  the  butter  to  separate  itself  from  the  curd.  It 
is  to  be  expected,  also,  that  when  rennet  is  used  in  great  excess, 
a  portion  of  it  will  remain  in  the  curd,  and  will  naturally  affect 
the  kind  and  rapidity  of  the  changes  it  afterwards  undergoes. 
Thus  it  is  said  to  cause  the  cheese  to  heave  or  swell  out  from 
fermentation.  It  is  probable,  also,  that  it  will  affect  the  flavor 
which  the  cheese  acquires  by  keeping.  Thus  it  may  be  that  the 
agreeable  or  unpleasant  taste  of  the  cheeses  of  certain  districts 
or  dairies  may  be  less  due  to  the  quality  of  the  pastures,  or  of 
the  milk  itself,  than  to  the  quantity  of  rennet  with  which  it  has 
there  been  customary  to  coagulate  the  milk. 

The  way  in  which  the  rennet  is  made^  no  less  than  its  state  of 
preservation  and  the  quantity  employed,  may  also  influence  the 
flavor  or  other  qualities  of  the  cheese. 


THE  DAIRY. 


395 


The  way  in  which  the  curd  is  treated^  is  usual  in  our  best 
cheese  districts  carefully  and  slowly  to  separate  the  curd  from  the 
whey;  not  to  hasten  the  separation,  lest  a  larger  portion  of  the 
fatty  matter  should  be  squeezed  out  of  the  curd,  and  the  cheese 
should  thus  be  rendered  poorer  than  usual.  But  in  some  places 
the  practice  prevails  of  washing  the  curd  with  hot  water  after 
the  whey  has  been  partially  separated  from  it. 

The  separation  of  the  whey  is  part  of  the  process  upon  whicli 
the  qualities  of  the  cheese  in  a  considerable  degree  depends.  In 
making  the  celebrated  Stilton  cheese,  the  curd  is  not  cut  or 
broken  at  all,  but  is  pressed  gently  and  with  care  till  the  whey 
gradually  drains  out.  Thus  the  butter  and  the  curd  remain 
intermixed,  and  the  rich  cheese  of  Stilton  is  the  result.  Thus, 
while  it  is  of  importance  that  all  the  whey  should  be  extracted 
from  the  curd,  yet  the  quickest  way  may  not  be  the  best.  More 
time  and  care  must  be  bestowed  in  order  to  effect  this  object,  the 
richer  the  cheese  we  wish  to  obtain.  The  quality  of  the  milk  or 
of  the  pastures  may  often  be  blamed  for  the  deficiencies  in  the 
richness  or  other  qualities  of  cheese,  which  are  in  reality  due  to 
slight  but  material  differences  in  the  mode  of  manufacturing  it. 
The  hind  of  salt  used  is  considered  by  many  to  have  some  effect 
upon  the  taste  of  the  cheese.   It  should  be  of  the  purest  quality. 

The  mode  in  which  the  Salt  is  applied. — ^^In  making  large  cheeses, 
the  dried  curd,  for  a  single  cheese  of  sixty  poimds,  is  broken  down 
fine  and  divided  into  three  equal  portions.  One  of  these  is 
mingled  with  double  the  quantity  of  salt  added  to  the  others,  and 
this  is  so  put  into  the  cheese  vat,  as  to  form  the  central  part  of  the 
cheese.  By  this  precaution,  the  after-salting  on  the  surface  is 
sure  to  penetrate  deep  enough  to  cure  effectually  the  less  salted 
parts.  It  may  not  be  impossible  to  cause  salt  to  penetrate  into 
the  very  heart  of  a  large  cheese,  but  it  cannot  be  easy  in  this 
way  to  salt  the  whole  cheese  equally,  while  the  care  and  attention 
required  must  be  greatly  increased. 

Addition  of  Cream  or  Butter  to  the  Curd. — Another  mode  of 
improving  the  quality  of  cheese  is  by  the  addition  of  cream  to 


396 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTUBE. 


the  dry  and  crumbled  curd.  Much  dihgence,  however,  is  required 
fully  to  incorporate  these,  so  that  the  cheese  may  be  uniform 
throughout.  Still  this  practice  gives  a  peculiar  character  to  the 
cheeses  so  manipulated. 

Size  of  the  Cheese. — From  the  same  milk  it  is  obvious  that 
cheeses  of  different  sizes,  if  treated  in  the  same  way,  will,  at  the 
end  of  a  given  number  of  months,  possess  qualities  in  a  consid 
erable  degree  different.  Hence,  without  supposing  any  inferi- 
ority, either  in  the  milk  or  in  the  general  mode  of  treatment, 
the  size  usually  adopted  for  the  cheeses  of  a  particular  district 
or  dairy,  may  be  the  cause  of  a  recognized  inferiority  in  some 
quahty  which  it  is  desirable  that  they  should  possess  in  a  high 
degree. 

The  method  of  curing  has  very  much  influence  upon  the  after 
qualities  of  the  cheese.  The  care  with  which  they  are  salted, 
the  warmth  of  the  place  in  which  they  are  kept  during  the  first 
two  or  three  weeks,  the  temperature  and  closeness  of  the  cheese 
room  in  which  they  are  afterwards  preserved,  the  frequency  of 
turning,  of  cleaning  from  mold,  and  rubbing  with  butter;  all 
these  circumstances  exercise  a  remarkable  influence  upon  the 
after  qualities  of  the  cheese.  Indeed,  in  very  many  instances, 
the  high  reputation  of  a  particular  dairy  district  or  dairy  farm  is 
derived  from  some  special  attention  to  one  or  another,  or  to  all  of 
the  apparently  minor  items  of  its  process. 

In  the  foregoing  remarks,  we  have  treated  the  making  of  cheese 
in  a  domestic  way  chiefly,  as  a  household  production.  But  th^ 
manufacture  of  cheese  in  our  dairy  districts  has  of  late  assumed 
such  large  proportions,  being  now  mainly  made  in  factories,  that 
the  old  time  manner  of  treating  it,  in  all  but  the  preparation  of 
the  essential  ingredients,  is  thrown  aside  for  more  recent  improve- 
ments, as  the  heating  caldrons,  the  curd  vats,  and  various  other 
utensils  to  work  the  milk  through  its  different  processes  into  the 
perfectly  cured  cheese.  It  has  become  a  trade  by  itself,  requiring 
skill,  experience,  and  apprenticeship  to  the  work,  which  few  can 
obtain  outside  of  the  regular  factory. 


THE  DAIRY. 


397 


It  is  fortunate  for  the  country  that  it  has  become  so,  as  the 
household  labor  of  cheese  making  is  extremely  toilsome  to  the 
female  department,  and  many  times  hazardous  in  the  quahty  of 
its  production.  The  perfect  management  of  the  dairy,  either  but- 
ter or  cheese,  requires  a  thorough  and  practical  instruction  for  its 
full  government.  To  all  who  propose  cheese  making  as  a  pursuit, 
we  commend  them  to  an  examination  of  the  factory  process,  and 
apprenticeship  to  the  work,  or,  if  the  latter  cannot  be  afforded,  to 
the  employment  of  a  competent  hand,  well  versed  in  the  modes  of 
making  the  article  at  the  best  of  these  estabhshments.  - 


I 


CHAPTER  XVII 


SHEEP. 


With  the  exception  of  the  dog,  there  is  no  one  of  the  brute 
creation  which  exhibits  the  diversity  of  size,  color,  form,  cover- 
ing and  general  appearance  which  characterizes  the  sheep,  and 
none  which  occupies  a  wider  range  of  climate,  or  subsists  on  a 
greater  variety  of  food.  In  every  latitude  between  the  equator 
and  the  arctic,  he  ranges  over  sterile  mountains,  and  through  the 
fertile  valleys.  He  feeds  on  almost  every  species  of  edible  forage, 
the  cultivated  grasses,  clovers,  cereals  and  roots ;  he  browses  on 
aromatic  and  bitter  herbs ;  he  crops  the  leaves  and  bark  from  the 
stunted  forest  shrubs,  and  the  pungent,  resinous  evergreens.  In 
some  parts  of  Norway  and  Sweden,  when  other  resources  fail,  he 
subsists  on  fish  or  flesh  during  their  long  and  rigorous  winters, 
and  if  reduced  to  necessity,  he  eats  his  own  wool.  He  is  diminu- 
tive like  the  Orkney,  or  massive  like  the  Teeswater.  He  is 
policerate  or  many-horned;  he  has  two  large  or  small  spiral 
horns  like  the  Merino,  or  is  polled  or  hornless  like  the  long 
wooled.  He  has  a  long  tail  like  our  own  breeds ;  a  broad  tail,  like 
many  of  the  Eastern,  or  a  mere  button  of  a  tail,  like  the  fat- 
rumps,  discernible  only  by  the  touch.  His  coat  is  sometimes  long 
and  coarse,  like  the  Lincolnshire ;  short  and  hairy,  Hke  those  of 
Madagascar ;  soft  and  furry,  like  the  Angola,  or  fine  and  spiral,  like 
the  silken  Merino,  or  Saxon.  Their  color,  either  pure  or  fancifully 
mixed,  varies  from  the  white  or  black  of  our  own  country,  to 
every  shade  of  brown,  dun,  buff,  blue  and  gray,  like  the  spotted 
flocks  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  other  parts  of  Africa  and 
Asia.  This  wide  diversity  is  the  result  of  long  domestication, 
under  almost  every  conceivable  variety  of  condition. 


SHEEP. 


399 


Uses. — Among  the  antediluvians,  sheep  were  immolated  for 
sacrificial  offerings,  and  their  fleeces  probably  furnished  them  with 
clothing.  Since  the  deluge,  their  flesh  has,  with  all  nations,  been 
used  as  a  favorite  food  for  man ;  and  by  the  rude,  roving  nations 
of  the  East,  they  are  employed  in  carrying  burthens.  Their  milk 
is  generally  used  by  the  uncivilized,  and  to  some  extent,  by  the 
refined  nations  of  Europe,  not  only  as  a  beverage,  but  for  making 
into  cheese,  butter  and  curds.  Job  refers  to  its  use,  as  do  Isaiah 
and » other  of  the  Old  Testament  writers.  Most  of  the  Greek  and 
Roman  writers  describe  its  general  use  and  manufacture.  The 
ewe's  milk  scarcely  differs  in  appearance  from  that  of  the  cow, 
but  is  generally  thicker,  and  yields  a  pale,  yellowish  butter,  that 
is  always  soft,  and  soon  becomes  rancid.  Cully  remarks:  The 
cheese  is  exceedingly  pungent,  and  for  that  reason  is  preferred  bj^ 
many,  to  that  from  the  cow."  In  Wales,  it  is  mixed  with  that 
of  the  dairy,  and  makes  a  tart,  palatable  cheese.  We  have  never 
seen  it  appropriated  for  dairy  purposes  in  the  United  States, 
except  by  a  few  Welsh  and  Highland  emigrants.  The  sheep  is 
sometimes  employed  in  the  dairy  regions  of  this  country,  at  the 
tread-mill  or  horizontal  wheel,  to  pump  the  water,  churn  the 
milk,  or  perform  other  Hght  domestic  work ;  but  it  is  rather  a 
poor  power. 

The  dignity  and  importance  of  the  shepherd's  vocation  have 
ever  been  conspicuous.  Abel,  the  supposed  twin-brother  of  the 
first-born  of  the  human  race,  was  a  "  keeper  of  sheep;"  and  from 
this  it  may  be  fairly  inferred,  that  there  is  no  animal  which  has 
so  long  been  under  the  immediate  control  of  man.  Abraham 
and  his  descendants,  as  well  as  most  of  the  ancient  patriarchs, 
were  shepherds.  Job  had  14,000  sheep.  It  is  said  of  Rachel, 
the  favored  mother  of  the  Jewish  race,  she  came  with  her 
father's  sheep,  for  she  kept  them."  The  seven  daughters  of  the 
priest  of  Midian,  "  came  and  drew  water  for  their  father's  flocks." 
Moses,  the  statesman  and  law-giver,  who  "  was  learned  in  all  the 
wisdom  of  the  Egyptians,  kept  the  flocks  of  Jethro,  his  father-in- 
law;"  and  David,  the  future  monarch  of  Israel,  the  hero,  poet, 


400 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


and  divine,  was  a  keeper  of  sheep.  It  was  to  shepherds,  while 
"abiding  in  the  field,  keeping  watch  over  their  flocks  by  night," 
that  the  birth  of  the  Saviour  was  announced.  The  root  of  the 
Hebrew  name  for  sheep,  signifies  fruitfalness,  abundance,  plenty ; 
as  indicating  the  blessings  they  were  destined  to  confer  on  the 
human  race.  With  the  sacred  writers,  they  were  the  chosen 
symbol  of  purity  and  the  gentler  virtues;  they  were  the  victims 
of  propitiatory  sacrifices ;  and  finally  they  became  the  type  of 
redemption  to  fallen  man.  These  may  not  be  considered  acci- 
dental allusions  in  a  book,  whose  every  feature  is  full  of  design. 
Nor  has  the  sheep  been  less  the  subject  of  eulogy  and  attention 
with  profane  writers.  Among  these,  Homer  and  Hesiod,  Yirgil 
and  Theocritus,  introduced  them  with  evident  dehght  in  their 
pastoral  themes ;  while  their  heroes  and  demi-gods,  Hercules  and 
Ulysses,  JEneas  and  Numa,  carefully  perpetuated  them  through- 
out their  regal  domains.  The  modern  English  poet,  Bloomfield, 
in  one  of  his  charming  pastorals,  describes  the  clouds, 

Spotless  as  snow,  and  countless  as  they're  Mr, 
The  beauteous  semblance  of  a  flock  at  rest." 

In  later  times  they  have  commanded  the  attention  of  the  most 
enhghtened  nations;  and  their  prosperity  has  in  no  instance 
been  independent  of  those  useful  animals,  wherever  wool  and 
its  manufactures  have  been  regarded  as  essential  staples.  Spain 
and  Portugal,  for  more  than  two  centuries,  were  the  most  enter- 
prising nations  of  Europe,  and  during  that  period  they  excelled 
in  the  production  and  manufacture  of  wool.  Flanders,  for  a 
time,  was  before  England  in  the  perfection  of  the  arts  and 
the  enjoyments  of  life,  and  England  then  sent  the  little  wool 
she  raised  to  that  country  to  he  manufactured.  Her  pohtic 
sovereigns  soon  found  this  a  losing  game,  and  offered  large 
bounties  for  the  importation  of  artists  and  machinery.  By  a 
systematic  and  thorough  course  of  legislation,  which  looked  to 
the  utmost  protection  and  augmentation  of  wool  and  woolens, 
she  has  carried  their  production  beyond  anything  the  world  has 
ever  seen.    The  small  islands  of  Great  Britain 'and  Ireland,  in 


SHEEP. 


401 


addition  to  the  support  of  their  30,000,000  of  people,  15,000,000 
of  cattle,  2,250,000  horses,  18,000,000  swine,  and  innumerable 
smaller  domestic  animals,  maintain  50,000,000  sheep,  worth 
$300,000,000;  and  besides  manufacturing  nearly  all  their  fleeces, 
annually  import  a  greater  amount  from  abroad.  The  sumptuary 
law  for  burying  the  dead  in  woolen,  still  occupies  its  place  in 
their  statute  book.  And  beyond  all  question,  England  is  the 
leading  power  of  Europe  in  the  combination  of  all  those  quah- 
ties,  which  constitute  national  greatness,  ciyihzation  and  strength. 

Varieties. — Naturalists  have  divided  the  wild  sheep  into 
four  varieties.  The  Musimon,  {Ovis  Masimon,)  inhabiting  Cor- 
sica, Sardinia  and  other  islands  of  the  Mediterranean,  the  moun- 
tainous parts  of  Spain  and  Greece  and. some  other  regions  bor- 
dering upon  that  inland  sea,  have  been  frequently  domesticated 
and  mixed  with  the  long  cultivated  breeds.  The  Argali^  (0. 
Ammon,)  ranges  over  the  steppes  or  elevated  plains  of  Central 
Asia,  northward  and  eastv/ard  to  the  ocean.  They  are  larger, 
more  hardy  and  more  untameable  than  the  Musimon.  The  Rocky 
Mountain  sheep^  {0.  Montano,)  frequently  called  the  big-horn 
by  our  western  hunters,  is  found  in  various  flocks  and  large 
numbers  throughout  the  wild  mountainous  regions,  extending 
through  California  and  Oregon  to  the  Pacific.  They  are  larger, 
but  in  other  respects  resemble  the  Argali,  of  which  they  are 
probably  descendants,  as  they  could  cross  upon  the  ice,  at  Behr- 
ing's  straits,  from  the  north-eastern  coast  of  Asia.  Like  the 
Argali,  when  caught  young,  they  are  easily  tamed ;  but  we  are 
not  aware  that  they  have  ever  been  bred  with  the  domestic 
sheep.  Before  the  country  was  overrun  by  the  white  man,  they 
probably  inhabited  the  region  bordering  on  the  Mississippi.  Fa 
ther  Hennepin,  a  French  Jesuit,  who  wrote  nearly  two  hundred 
years  ago,  and  who  falsely  claims  to  have  first  discovered  that 
river,  often  speaks  of  meeting  with  goats,  in  his  travels  through 
what  is  now  the  territory  embraced  by  Ilhnois  and  Wisconsin. 
The  wild,  clambering  propensities  of  these  animals,  occupying  the 
giddy  heights,,  far  beyond  the  reach  of  the  traveler,  and  the  outer 


402 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


coating  of  hair,  (supplied  underneatli  however,  with  a  thick  coat- 
ing of  soft  wool,)  gives  to  them  much  of  the  appearance  of  that 
animal.  In  summer  they  are  generally  found  single;  but  when 
they  descend  from  their  isolated  rocky  heights  in  winter,  they  are 
gregarious,  marching  in  flocks  under  the  guidance  of  leaders. 
The  Bearded  sheep  of  Africa,  (0.  Tragelaphus,)  inhabit  the 
mountains  of  Barbary  and  Egypt.  They  are  covered  with  a 
soft,  reddish  hair,  and  have  a  mane  hanging  below  the  neck,  and 
large  locks  of  hair  at  the  ankle. 

The  Domestic  Sheep  (^Ovis  Aries,)  embraces  all  the  varie- 
ties of  the  subjugated  species.  Whether  they  have  descended 
from  any  one  of  the  wild  races,  is  a  question  yet  undetermined 
among  the  naturahsts ;  but  however  this  may  be,  many  of  the 
varieties  apparently  differ  less  from  their  wild  namesakes  than 
from  each  other.  The  Fat-rumped  and  Broad-tailed  sheep  are 
much  more  extensively  diffused  than  any  other.  They  occupy 
nearly  all  the  South-eastern  part  of  Europe,  "Western  and  Central 
Asia,  and  Northern  Africa.  They  are  supposed  to  be  the  varie- 
ties which  were  propagated  by  the  patriarchs  and  their  descend- 
ants, the  Jewish  race.  This  is  inferred  from  various  passages  in 
the  Pentateuch,  Exodus  xxix.  22;  Leviticus,  iii.  9;  viii.  25;  ix. 
19,  and  some  others,  where  ''the  fat  and  the  rump"  are  spoken 
of  in  connection  with  offerings,  in  which  the  fat  was  always  an 
acceptable  ingredient.  Dr.  Boothroyd  renders  one  of  the  forego- 
ing passages,  "the  large  fat  tail  entire  taken  clear  to  the  rump." 
It  is  certain  this  variety  gives  indisputable  evidence  of  remote 
and  continued  subjugation.  Their  long,  pendent,  drowsy  ears, 
and  the  highly  artificial  posterior  developments,  are  characteristic 
of  no  wild  or  recently  domesticated  race. 

This  breed  consists  of  numerous  sub -varieties,  differing  in  all 
their  characteristics  of  size,  fleece,  etc.,  with  quite  as  many  and 
marked  shades  of  distinction  as  the  modern  European  varieties. 
In  Madagascar,  they  are  covered  with  hair;  in  the  south  of 
Africa,  with  coarse  wool;  in  the  Levant,  and  along  the  Mediter- 
ranean, the  wool  is  comparatively  fine;  and  from  that  of  the  fat- 


SHEEP. 


403 


lumped  sheep  of  Thibet,  the  exquisite  Cashmere  shawls  are 
manufactured.  Both  rams  and  ewes  are  sometimes  bred  with 
horns,  and  sometimes  without,  and  they  exhibit  a  great  diversity 
of  color.  Some  yield  a  carcass  of  scarcely  thirty  pounds,  while 
others  have  weighed  two  hundred  pounds  dressed.  The  tail  or 
rump  varies  greatly,  according  to  the  purity  and  style  of  breed- 
ing; some  are  less  than  one- eighth,  while  others  exceed  one-third 
the  entire  dressed  weight.  The  fat  of  the  rump  or  tail  is  con- 
sidered a  great  delicacy,  and  in  hot  climates  resembles  oil,  and  in 
colder,  suet.  The  broad-tailed  were  brought  into  this  country 
about  seventy  years  since,  by  Commodore  Barron  and  Judge 
Peters,  and  bred  with  the  native  flocks.  They  were  called  the 
Tunisian  Mountain  sheep.  Some  of  them  were  subsequently 
distributed  by  Colonel  Pickering,  of  Massachusetts,  among  the 
farmers  of  Pennsylvania,  and  their  mixed  descendants  were 
highly  prized  as  prolific  and  good  nursers,  coming  early  to 
maturity,  attaining  large  weights  of  superior  quality  of  carcass, 
and  yielding  a  heavy  fleece  of  excellent  wool.  The  principal 
objection  brought  against  them,  was  the  difficulty  of  propaga- 
tion, which  always  required  the  assistance  of  the  shepherd.  The 
lambs  were  dropped  white,  red,  tawny,  bluish  or  black ;  but  all 
excepting  the  black,  grew  white  as  they  approached  maturity, 
retaining  some  spots  of  the  original  color  on  the  cheeks  and  legs, 
and  sometimes  having  the  entire  head  tawny  or  black.  The  few 
which  descended  from  those  originally  imported  into  this  country, 
became  blended  with  American  flocks,  and  are  now  scarcely 
known.  A  few  other  importations  have  since  been  made,  but 
have  proved  of  little  value  for  American  cultivation. 

Native  or  Common  Sheep  of  the  United  States. — 
Strictly  speaking,  there  are  no  sheep  indigenous  to  North  Amer- 
ica, excepting  the  Ovis  Montana,  or  Rocky  Mountain  sheep. 
Before  the  introduction  of  the  improved  European  breeds,  during 
the  present  century,  our  sheep  consisted  generally  of  a  hardy, 
long-legged,  coarse,  open-fleeced  animal,  which  yielded  according 
to  attention  and  feed,  from  one  and  a  half  to  four  pounds  of  indif- 


404 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


ferent  wool.  We  have  seen  numerous  flocks  within  the  last 
thirtj  years,  of  the  old  natives,  whose  bellies  were  entirely  desti- 
tute of  wool,  and  sometimes  the  whole  carcass  was  bare,  excepting 
a  mere  strip  or  ridge  like  a  mane,  reaching  from  the  head  to  the 
tail.  The  wool  which  was  retained  on  the  neck,  back  and  sides, 
was  frequently  matted  almost  as  firmly  as  a  leather  apron ;  and 
that  on  the  thighs,  and  sometimes  on  the  sides,  was  often  com- 
posed almost  wholly  of  long  hair.  Although  indifferently  formed 
in  comparison  with  the  best  breeds  of  the  present  day,  being  thin 
in  the  breast  and  back,  light  quartered,  and  slow  in  coming  to 
maturity,  they  yet  possessed  some  good  qualities.  They  were 
prolific,  and  made  excellent  nurses. 

There  were  occasionally  some  smutty-nosed,  or  brockle-faced 
sheep  among  them,  distinguished  by  their  additional  size,  superior 
merits  and  courage.  These  were  usually  the  leaders  of  the  flock 
in  their  marauding  expeditions  on  their  neighbor's  domains,  and 
in  common  with  the  others,  were  eminently  adapted  to  purvey 
for  themselves  on  the  frontier  settlements.  There  were  besides, 
some  black  or  dark  chocolate-brown  members  in  every  flock, 
which  were  much  valued  by  the  thrifty  housewife  for  their  wool, 
which  afforded  an  economical  mixture  for  jackets,  hose  and 
trowsers,  known  as  sheep's  grey.  Our  original  stock  v/ere  prin- 
cipally derived  from  England,  where  their  counterparts  may  be 
seen  at  the  present  day,  in  the  refuse  breeds  of  that  country. 
"When  these  sheep  were  well  selected  and  properly  bred,  there 
was  rapid  and  satisfactory  improve'ments,  and  from  such  flocks, 
mixed  with  some  of  the  more  recently  improved  varieties,  have 
sprung  many  valuable  animals. 

The  Merino. — This  is  undoubtedly  among  the  most  ancient 
race  of  sheep  extant.  The  loose  descriptions  and  indefinite  gener- 
ahties  of  the  ancient  writers,  leave  much  to  conjecture  on  this 
point;  yet  we  have  a  few  passages  from  Pliny,  Columella  and 
some  other  Roman  authors,  which  leave  little  doubt  that  tlie 
Merino  was  bred  in  their  age,  and  had  even  been  introduced  into 
Italy  from  Greece.    It  is  a  matter  of  history,  that  the  Greeks 


SHEEP. 


405 


had  choice  breeds  of  sheep  at  an  early  day,  which  they  might 
have,  derived  from  Egypt,  Tyre  and  Asia  Minor,  as  they  were 
intimately  connected  in  commerce  with  those  countries,  where 
the  woolen  manufacture  early  reached  great  perfection.    It  is 
supposed  that  the  celebrated  Argonautic  expedition,  in  quest  of 
the  golden  fleece,  undertaken  by  the  Greeks  nearly  1,300  years 
before  Christ,  resulted  in  procuring  a  valuable  race  of  sheep  from 
Colchis,  in  the  Euxine.    However  this  may  be,  it  is  certain  that 
when  Augustus  extended  his  peaceful  sceptre  over  half  the  known 
world,  the  Romans  were  in  possession  of  some  flocks,  bearing 
fleeces  of  exceeding  fineness  and  beauty.    They  had  been  reared 
in  the  province  of  Apulia,  on  the  south-east  coast  of  Italy,  and 
were  called  Tarentine,  from  the  capital  of  the  province.  Here, 
then,  may  have  been  one  branch  of  the  Merino  family.  Another 
is  undoubtedly  described  by  Pliny,  who  says,  "the  red  fleece 
Bcetica^''^  which  comprises  the  modern  Spanish  provinces  of  Jaen, 
Cordova,  Seville,  Andalusia  and  Grranada,  "was  of  still  superior 
quality,  and  had  no  fellow.''^    All  the  Spanish  coast  on  the  Med- 
iterranean, of  which  Baetica  f(3rmed  a  considerable  part,  was  early 
colonized  by  the  enterprising  Greeks ;  and  this  red  fleece  that  had 
no  fellow^  was  probably  introduced  by  them  at  an  early  day,  and 
by  their  descendants  had  been  carried  to  a  still  higher  degree  of 
perfection  than  that  of  Apulia.     Columella,  'the  uncle  of  the 
writer  on  agriculture,  a  wealthy  emigrant  to  Spain,  from  Italy, 
A.  D.  30,  carried  with  him  some  of  the  Tarentine  sheep,  and 
thus  added  to  the  fine-wooled  sheep  of  Spain.   These  two  ancient 
streams,  united  perhaps  with  a  third,  from  the  more  ancient  stock 
of  the  Euxine,  (for  Strabo  asserts  that  some  of  the  finest  wooled 
sheep  were  brought  from  that  region  in  his  time,  and  sold  for  the 
enormous  sum  of  $750,)  flowed  on  in  an  uninterrupted  current, 
over  that  broad  country,  and  brought  down  to  modern  times  the 
unrivalled  race  of  the  Merino.     The  limited  region  of  Italy, 
overrun  as  it  repeatedly  was,  during  and  after  the  times  of  the 
late  Emperors,  by  hordes  of  barbarians,  soon  lost  her  pampered 
flocks,  while  the  extended  regions  of  Spain,  intersected  in  every 


406 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTUBE. 


direction  by  almost  impassable  mountains,  could  maintain  their 
more  hardy  race,  in  defiance  of  revolution  or  change.*  The 
conquest  by  the  Moors  of  a  part  of  those  fine  provinces,  so  far 
from  checking,  served  rather  to  encourage  the  production  of  fine 
wool.  They  were  not  only  enterprising,  but  highly  skilled  in  the 
usefiil  arts,  and  carried  on  extensive  manufactories  of  fine  woolen 
goods,  which  they  exported  to  different  countries.  After  their 
expulsion  in  the  fifteenth  century,  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  the 
Spaniards  preserved  these  manufactures  in  part,  and  seduously 
cherished  their  fine  flocks,  and  knowing  the  incomparable  advan- 
tage tliey  had  in  them,  their  sovereigns,  except  in  a  few  isolated 
instances,  strictly  prohibited  their  exportation. 

Exportation  of  Merinos  from  Spain. — History  asserts 
that  Henry  VHI.  of  England,  by  permission  of  Charles  V., 
imported  3,000  sheep,  but  of  what  kind  is  not  mentioned,  they 
having  numerous  varieties  in  Spain.  If  of  the  true  Merino,  it 
will  explain  the  superior  quahty  of  the  English  middle-wools,  the 
Rveland,  South  Downs,  and  some  others.  The  first  well  authen- 
ticated exportation  of  the  Merino  was  made  to  Sweden  in  1723, 
by  Alstroemer,  which  solved  the  problem  of  their  capacity  for 
sustaining  their  character  on  rough  fare  and  a  high  northern 
latitude.  Lasteyrie,  who  wrote  fifty  years  after  the  experiment 
had  been  tried,  speaks  of  their  improvement  both  in  carcass  and 
the  quahty  and  quantity  of  fleece.     The  next  exportation  was 

*  Whatever  distrust  may  be  attached  to  these  scraps  of  history,  which  apparently 
establish  the  remote  antiquity  of  the  Merino,  this  much  is  absolutely  certain,  that 
they  are  a  race  whose  qualities  are  inbred  to  an  extent  surpassed  by  no  others. 
They  have  been  improved  in  the  general  weight  and  evenness  of  their  fleece,  as  in 
the  celebrated  flock  of  Rambouillet :  in  the  uniform  and  excessive  fineness  of  fibre, 
as  in  the  Saxons,  and  in  their  form  and  feeding  qualities  in  various  countries ;  but 
there  has  never  yet  been  deterioration  either  in  quantity  or  quality  of  fleece  or 
carcass,  wherever  transported,  if  supplied  with  suitable  food  and  attention.  Many 
sheep  annually  shed  their  wool,  if  undipped ;  while  the  Merino  retains  its  fleece, 
sometimes  for  five  years,  when  allowed  to  remain  unshorn.  This,  we  conceive, 
afl'ords  conclusive  evidence  of  long  continued  breeding  among  themselves,  by  which 
the  very  constitution  of  the  wool-producing  organs  beneath  the  skin,  have  become 
permanently  changed,  and  this  property  is  transmitted  to  a  great  extent  even  among 
the  crosses,  thus  marking  them  as  an  ancient  and  peculiar  race. 


SHEEP. 


407 


made  to  Saxony,  in  1765,  and  consisted  of  one  hundred  and  five 
ram3  and  one  hundred  and  fourteen  ewes,  but  from  what  flocks 
they  were  taken,  history  nowhere  mentions.  A  second  exporta- 
tion to  that  country  was  made  in  1778,  of  one  hundred  and  ten 
that  were  variously  selected  from  the  be^t  flocks  in  Spain.  From 
these  have  descended  the  high-bred,  silken-fleeced  Saxons,  whose 
wool  stands  confessedly  without  a  rival. 

In  1775,  the  Empress  Maria  Theresa  imported  three  hundred 
Merinos  into  Germany,  and  placed  them  on  the  Imperial  farm  in 
Hungary.  In  1786,  an  importation  was  made  into  Denmark  and 
her  provinces;  and  again,  in  1797,  another  flock  of  three  hun- 
dred was  brought  into  the  kingdom,  and  placed  at  Esserum,  about 
eight  leagues  from  Copenhagen.  In  1786,  one  hundred  rams  and 
two  hundred  ewes  were  imported  into  Prussia,  most  of  which  were 
allowed  to  perish  from  disease,  but  their  places  were  fully  made 
up  by  later  importations.  The  same  year,  four  hundred  ewes  and 
rams  were  selected  from  the  choicest  Spanish  flocks,  and  placed 
on  the  Koyal  farm  of  Rambouillet,  in  France,  which  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  celebrated  flock  which  bears  that  name.  A 
small  flock  of  inferior  animals  was  clandestinely  procured  by 
George  III.  of  England,  in  1788,  which  attracted  little  attention. 
In  1791,  a  small  but  choice  flock  was  presented  to  that  monarch, 
by  the  Cortes  of  Spain,  which  soon  acquired  high  favor  among 
many  intelligent  breeders.  A  part  of  these  were  kept  piu:e,  and 
their  descendants  frimished  the  superb  flock  of  seven  hundred 
Nigrettis,  which  procured  for  their  owner,  Mr.  Trimmer,  in  1829, 
the  gold  medal  from  the  London  Society  of  Arts.  Others  were 
mixed  with  different  flocks  in  the  kingdom,  to  the  evident  im 
provement  of  their  fleeces. 

Thie  first  importation  of  Merinos  into  the  United  States  which 
resulted  in  the  propagation  of  a  pure  breed,*  was  made  by  Chan- 
ceUor  Livingston,  then  minister  at  the  Court  of  Versailles,  who 

*  One  or  more  ptire  Merinos  were  imi>orted  into  Massachnsetts,  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  last  century,  by  a  citizen  of  that  Stat^,  but  they  were  soon  mixed  with  other 
sheep,  and  resulted  in  the  perpetuation  of  no  distinct  flocks. 


408 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


sent  two  cHoice  rams  and  ewes  from  the  Rambouillet  flock  in 
1802,  t^  Claremont,  his  country  seat  on  the  Hudson.  In  the 
latter  part  of  the  same  year,  Col.  Humphreys,  our  minister  in 
Spain,  sent  out  nearly  one  hundred  Merinos,  which  were  followed 
by  more  numerous  flocks  from  the  same  and  other  sources.  The 
largest  importations  of  the  Merino,  however,  were  made  through 
Mr.  Jarvis,  of  Vermont,  then  U.  S.  Consul  in  Spain,  in  1809,  and 
immediately  thereafter.  He  first  shipped,  as  he  states,  "200 
Escurial;  afterwards,  1,400  Paulars,  1,700  Aqueirres,  100  Ni- 
grettis,.  and  about  200  Montarcos.  2,700  Montarcos  were  sent 
out  by  a  Spaniard  and  Portuguese,  and  a])out  300  Guadaloupes 
by  others;  also  200  to  300  Paulars,  by  Gen.  Downie  to  Boston. 
Of  the  Montarco  flock  shipped  by  others,  about  2,500  came  to 
Boston,  Providence,  New  York,  and  other  ports.  All  were 
imported  in  the  latter  part  of  1809-10,  and  early  in  1811,  and 
were  the  only  Leonese  Transhumantes,  if  we  include  Humphrey's 
and  Livingston's,  (which  no  doubt  were  of  the  same  stock,)  that 
were  ever  shipped  to  the  United  States." 

Varieties  of  the  Spanish  Sheep. — Besides  several  other 
breeds  of  sheep  in  Spain,  consisting  of  long  and  coarse  wool  and 
that  of  a  medium  staple,  embraced  under  the  different  names  of 
Qhorinots,  Choaroes  or  ChunahSj  the  Merino  is  distinguished  by 
two  general  divisions :  the  Transhumantes  or  traveling,  and  the 
Estantes  or  stationary  flocks.  The  former  are  subdivided  accord- 
ing to  the  Provinces  they  occupy,  into  Leonese,  Segovian  and 
Sorian.  Many  of  the  Bstantes  were  of  the  best  quality  in  respect 
to  carcass,  constitution  and  fleece,  and  such  as  were  highly  bred 
and  in  the  hands  of  intelhgent  breeders,  were  not  surpassed  by 
any  of  the  Spanish  flocks.  There  were  also  many  choice  sheep 
among  the  Segovian  and  Sorian  Transhumantes,  but  in  general 
they  were  decidedly  inferior  to  those  of  Leon.  These  last  were 
universally  regarded  as  the  prime  flocks  of  Spain.  They  com- 
prised the  Escurial,  the  Paular,  the  Nigretti,  the  Aqueirres  or 
Muros,  the  Montarco,  the  Guadaloupe,  Infantado  and  some  others. 


SHEEP. 


409 


There  is  much  contradictory  testimony  as  to  the  comparative 
merits  of  the  last  mentioned  flocks,  as  they  were  found  in  Spain  ; 
which  is  owing  in  part,  doubtless,  to  the  difference  in  the  speci- 
mens subjected  to  examination.    We  subjoin  some  of  the  most 
reliable  authorities  on  this  subject.    M.  Lasteyrie,  who  investi- 
gated this  matter  closely,  says:  "The  Guadaloupe  have  the  most 
perfect  form,  and  are  likewise  celebrated  for  the  quantity  and 
quahty  of  their  wool.     The  Paular  bear  much  wool  of  a  fine 
quahty,  but  they  have  a  more  evident  enlargement  behind  the 
ears,  and  a  greater  degree  of  throatiness,  and  the  lambs  have  a 
coarse  hairy  appearance  which  is  succeeded  by  excellent  wool. 
The  lambs  of  the  Infanta  do  have  the  same  hairy  coat  when 
young.    The  Nigretti  are  the  largest  and  strongest  of  all  the 
traveling  sheep  in  Spain."    Mr.  Livingston  says :  "  The  Escurial 
is  the  most  perfect  of  all  the  traveling  flocks  in  Spain;  the  Guada 
loupe  for  form,  fineness  and  abundance  of  the  fleece ;  the  Paular, 
with  similar  fleeces,  are  larger  bodied.    Those  of  Castile  and 
Leon  have  the  largest  with  the  finest  coat.    Those  of  Soria  are 
smcxll  with  very  fine  wool;  and  those  also  of  Valencia  which  do 
not  travel,  and  like  the  last  have  fine  wool  but  of  a  very  short 
staple."    Mr.  J arvis,  who  spent  many  years  in  Spain  under  every 
advantage  for  studying  them  closely,  and  who  imported  and  had 
since  bred  large  numbers  of  them  on  his  estate  in  Vermont,  says: 
"The  Paulars  were  undoubtedly  one  of  the  handsomest  flocks  in 
Spain.    They  were  of  middling  height,  round  bodied,  well  spread, 
straight  on  the  back,  the  neck  of  the  bucks  rising  in  a  moderate 
curve  from  the  withers  to  the  setting  on  of  the  head,  their  head 
handsome,  with  aquiline  curve  of  the  nose,  with  short,  fine  glossy 
hair  on  the  face,  and  generally  hair  on  the  legs,  the  skin  pretty 
smooth,  that  is,  not  rolling  up  or  doubling  about  the  neck  and 
body,*  as  in  some  other  flocks;  the  crimp  in  the  wool  was  not  so 
short  as  in  many  other  flocks,  the  wool  was  somewhat  longer,  but 
.  it  was  close  and  compact,  and  was  soft  and  silky  to  the  touch,  and 

*In  this  feature  Mr.  Jarvis'  description  differs  from  M.  Lasteyrie.  belore  men- 
tioned. 

18 


410 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


the  surfiice  was  not  so  much  covered  with  gmu.    This  flock  was 
originallj  owned  by  the  Carthusian  friars  of  Paular,  who  were 
the  best  agricultmists  in  Spain,  and  was  sold  by  that  order  to 
tlie  Prmce  of  Peace  when  he  came  into  power.    The  Nigretti 
flock  were  the  tallest  Merinos  in  Spain,  but  were  not  hand- 
somely formed,  being  rather  flat-sided,  roach-back,  and  the  neck 
inclining  to  sink  down  from  the  withers ;  the  wool  was  somewhat 
shorter  than  the  Paular,  and  more  crimped,  the  skin  was  more 
loose  and  inclined  to  double,  and  many  of  them  were  wooled  on 
their  faces  and  legs  t^own  to  the  hoofs.    All  the  loose-skinned 
sheep  had  large  dewlaps.     The  Aqueirres  were  short-legged, 
round,  broad  bodied,  with  loose  skins,  and  were  more  wooled 
about  their  faces  and  legs  than  any  other  flock  I  ever  saw ;  the 
wool  was  more  crimped  than  the  Paular,  and  less  than  the 
Nigretti,  but  was  thick  and  soft.    This  flock  formerly  belonged 
to  the  Moors  of  Spain,  and  at  their  expulsion,  was  bought  by 
the  family  of  Aqueirres.    The  wool  in  England  was  known  as 
the  Muros  flock,  and  was  highly  esteemed.     All  the  bucks  of 
these  three  flocks  had  large  horns.    The  Escurials  were  about  as 
tall  as  the  Paulars,  but  not  quite  so  round  and  broad,  being  in 
general  rather  more  shght  in  their  make ;  their  wool  was  crimped, 
but  not  quite  so  thick  as  the  Paular  or  Nigretti,  nor  were  their 
skins  so  loose  as  the  Nigretti  and  Aqueirres,  nor  had  they  so 
much  wool  on  the  face  and  legs.    The  Montarco  bore  a  consid- 
erable  resemblance  to  the  Escurial.     The  Escurial  flock  had 
formerly  belonged  to  the  crown,  but  when  Phihp  II.  built  the 
Escurial  palace,  he  gave  them  to  the  friars,  whom  he  placed  in  a 
convent  that  was  attached  to  the  palace,  as  a  source  of  revenue. 
These  four  flocks  were  moderately  gummed.    The  Guadaloupe 
flock  was  rather  larger  in  the  bone  than  the  two  preceding, 
about  the  same  height,  but  not  quite  so  handsomely  formed,  their 
wool  was  thick  and  crimped,  their  skins  loose  and  doubling,  their 
faces  and  legs  not  materially  different  from  the  two  latter  flocks, 
but  in  general  they  were  more  gummed  than  either  of  the  other 
flocks.     In  point  of  fineness  there  was  very  httle  difference 


SHEEP.  '  411 

between  these  six  flocks,  and  as  I  have  been  told  by  well  informed 
persons,  there  is  very  little  difference  in  this  respect  among  the 
Leonese  Transhumantes  in  general.  The  Escurials,  the  Montar- 
cos  and  the  tjuadaloupes  were  not  in  general  so  heavy  horned  as 
the  other  three  flocks,  and  about  one  in  six  of  the  bucks  were 
without  horns." 

The  Rambouillet  flock,  of  France,  was  founded  in  1786, 
by  Louis  XYL,  from  a  selection  of  four  hundred  of  the  best 
Spanish  sheep,  which  were  placed  on  the  royal  farm  at  Rambouil- 
let.   These  received  all  the  attention  which  intelligence  and 
wealth  could  bestow,  and  the  consequence  was  soon  manifest  in 
their  larger  size,  and  the  increased  weight  and  uniformity  in  the 
fineness  of  their  fleece ;  the  last  improvement  being  particularly 
evident  in  the  absence  of  the  coarse  wool  which  in  many  cases 
infested  the  quarters,  and  the  jarr,  or  hair,  which  frequently 
abounds  on  the  flanks,  legs  and  thighs  of  the  original  Merino. 
Besides  the  crown  flocks  at  Rambouillet,  they  are  found  in  equal 
perfection  on  several  other  of  the  royal  farms,  especially  those  of 
Malmaison,  Perpignan,  Aries,  Clermont,  and  some  others.  These 
flocks  have  been  bred  for  hardy  constitution,  large  carcass  and 
heavy  fleece,  of  as  much  fineness  as  consistent  with  large  weights, 
and  as  uniform  in  quality  throughout  as  possible.    Mr.  Gilbert, 
who  was  particularly  famihar  with  them,  says:  ^'Almost  all  the 
fleeces  of  the  rams,  from  two  years  old  and  upwards,  weigh 
(unwashed)  from  twelve  to  thirteen  pounds ;  but  the  mean  weight, 
taking  the  rams  and  ewes  together,  has  not  quite  attained  to  eight 
pounds,  after  deducting  the  tags  and  the  wool  of  the  belly."  The 
French  pound  is  about  one-twelfth  heavier  than  the  Enghsh ;  but 
from  the  general  custom  of  folding  the  sheep  in  France,  feeding 
them  in  fallows  and  wintering  them  in  houses,  the  fleece  becomes 
very  dirty.    The  loss  in  washing  (fit  for  manufacturing,)  is  about 
60  per  cent.,  so  that  the  clean  fleece  of  the  ram  will  average 
about  six  pounds,  and  that  of  the  whole  flock  something  under 
four  pounds. 

The  first  importation  of  the  Ramlouillets  to  this  country  was  in 
1801,  by  M.  Dellesert,  of  Paris,  for  M.  Dupont,  then  in  New 


412 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


York,  and  consisted  of  four  choice  rams,  only  one  of  which,  Don 
Pedro,  reached  this  country.    He  was  used  among  the  native 
ewes  near  Kingston,  N.  Y.,  for  three  years,  and  then  transferred 
to.  Delaware,  where  he  effected  great  improvemenf  among  the 
native  flocks.    The  second  was  that -made  by  the  late  Chancellor 
Livingston,  before  alluded  to.    There  was  another  in  1840,  by 
Mr.  CoUins,  of  Connecticut,  comprising  thirty  select  ewes  and 
two  rams.    All  these  sheep  possessed  the  characteristics  peculiar 
to  the  variety  as  described.    A  still  more  recent  importation  has 
been  made  by  Mr.  Taintor,  of  Connecticut,  during  the  summer 
of  1846,  of  twenty-three  ewes  and  three  bucks.    We  subjoin  a 
description  of  these  from  the  editor  of  the  "American  Agricul- 
turist," New  York.    "The  rams,  though  young,  are  the  most 
promising  animals  of  their  breed  we  ever  saw,  and  when  full 
grown  will  weigh  at  least  from  225  to  250  pounds  each.    One  of 
them  sheared  twenty-three  pounds  of  unwashed  wool.    To  give 
an  idea  of  the  ewes,  we  measured  them  after  they  were  shorn, 
and  found  they  varied  from  25M  to  29  inches  in  height  over  the 
withers ;  and  lest.it  may  be  thought  this  superior  height  is  attained 
by  extra  long  legs,  we  will  add,  that  the  height  of  the  under  side 
of  their  bodies  from  the  ground  was  from  9>^  to  12  inches,  which, 
according  to  our  observation,  is  no  greater  in  proportion  to  their 
size  than  that  of  good  American  Merino  sheep.    Their  weights 
we  took  afler  being  shorn.    They  varied  from  124  to  153  pounds. 
Some  of  them  were  quite  thin  in  flesh,  the  largest  especially, 
which,  if  in  fine  condition  and  her  fleece  on,  would  weigh  at  least 
200  pounds.    Fourteen  of  these  ewe  fleeces  weighed  an  average 
of  15  pounds  each,  unwashed." 

These  sheep  were  separated,  a  part  of  them  taken  into  Ver- 
mont, and  all  bred  with  great  care.  They  were  wooled  over 
the  forehead  and  face,  on  the  legs,  even  to  the  feet,  prolific,  and 
under  good  management  multiphed  rapidly.  They  had  an  exten- 
sive sale  at  high  prices,  and  were  introduced  into  many  Merino 
flocks,  chiefly  in  New  York  and  the  Western  States ;  but  it  was 
found  that  their  wool  was  coarser  in  fibre  than  the  old,  or  Spanish 


SHEEP. 


413 


Merino  stock,  and  they  lacked  in  hardihood,  compared  with  our  * 
common  Merinos.  After  some  years  they  gradually  waned,  and 
were  superceded  by  the  improved  Vermont  stock  of  the  original 
importations,  so  that  now  but  few  of  the  Eambouillets,  of  pure 
blood,  are  to  be  found.  Although  of  large  size,  they  were  coarse 
in  figure,  lacking  compactness  in  body;  yet,  with  these  draw- 
backs, and  but  for  the  painstaking  care  which  had  been,  and 
still  is  bestowed  on  the  American  born  flocks  of  the  old  Span- 
ish stocks,  they  might  have  secured  a  strong  admixture  of  their 
blood  in  many  of  our  present  flocks. 

SiLESiAN  Merinos. — Some  years  since,  some  fine  importations 
of  these  were  made  from  Silesia,  in  Germany,  by  Mr.  Chamber- 
lain, of  Columbia  Co.,  N.  Y.,  and  perhaps  others  in  different 
places,  although  not  now  recollected.  These  have  proved  unsur- 
passed in  style  of  carcass,  fineness  and  good  quality  of  wool. 
They  are  comparatively  free  from  the  crusty  yolk  carried  by  the 
Spanish  Merinos,  and  evidently  an  improvement  on  many  of  that 
class  of  flocks.  Thus  far,  both  in  breed  and  weight  of  fleece, 
they  have  proved  eminently  successful. 

The  Progress  op  the  Merino  in  the  United  States. — 
Though  reaching  back  but  two-thirds  of  a  century,  the  Merino 
flocks  of  this  country  have  been  very  fluctuating  as  to  their  value, 
increase  and  improvement.  When  first  introduced,  they  were 
viewed  with  distrust  by  the  majority  of  our  farmers;  and  it  was 
not  till  after  several  years'  experience  of  their  paramount  merits, 
that  they  were  generally  disseminated.  But  the  confidence  of 
our  flock-masters  having  once  been  secured,  it  has  never  been 
withdrawn,  and  they  have  ever  since  been  cherished  favorites. 
The  prices  for  choice  Merinos  rapidly  increased  after  a  few  years, 
and  Livingston  states  the  average  price  for  rams,  in  1811,  at 
$1,000,  and  some  were  sold  at  a  much  higher  rate.  This  was 
the  period  of  the  embargo,  when  our  infant  manufactures  were 
just  starting  into  life;  and  being  followed  by  war  with  the 
greatest  commercial  nation  of  the  world,  we  were  thrown  entirely 
on  our  own  resources  for  the  supply  of  our  woolen  and  other 


414 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


fabrics,  and  wool  and  sheep  maintained  their  full  value  till  the 
return  of  peace,  in  1815.  The  flooding  of  our  country  with 
foreign  goods,  under  low  duties,  which  succeeded  this  event, 
either  broke  down  or  effectually  paralyzed  our  woolen  manufac- 
tures, and  wool,  of  course,  felt  the  full  weight  of  this  crushing 
influence.  The  Merino  rapidly  declined  in  value,  till  its  price 
nearly  approximated  to  that  of  the  native  sheep.  Their  merits 
had,  however,  become  so  conspicuous,  that  the  low  prices  pro- 
duced a  more  general  diffusion,  and  they  and  their  crosses  were 
thus  sown  broadcast  over  the  country. 

The  introduction  of  the  Saxons,  in  great  numbers,  in  1826, 
many  of  which  were  excessively  diminutive  and  diseased,  and 
their  indiscriminate  use  with  our  pure-bred  Merinos,  was  a  serious 
interruption  to  the  career  of  improvement  in  many  of  our  flocks. 
Their  mixture  with  the  best  Saxons  was  no  further  detrimental 
than  to  reduce  the  quantity  of  fleece,  and  to  a  certain  extent 
lessen  the  pecuhar  hardiness  of  the  original  Transhum antes, 
which  had  been  fully  preserved  by  their  descendants  in  this 
country.  The  use  of  well  selected  Saxon  rams  with  Merino 
flocks  was  extensively  practiced,  and  their  crosses,  although  some- 
what remote,  are  stifl  retained  by  inteUigent  flock-masters,  after 
forty  years'  experience,  who  are  satisfied  that  they  find  it  for 
their  interest  to  continue  this  style  of  breeding.  The  animals 
being  smaller,  consume  less,  and  they  probably  produce  a  quantity 
of  wool  in  proportion  to  their  food,  which,  from  its  improved  and 
uniform  quality,  commands  a  higher  price  in  the  market.  Their 
natures  are  intrinsically  the  same.  They  are  only  divergent 
streams  from  the  same  original  fountain,  and  when  again  united, 
they  readily  coalesce  and  flow  onwards,  without  violence  or 
disorder. 

The  Merino,  as  might  reasonably  have  been  anticipated,  when 
properly  managed,  has  improved  from  a  variety  of  causes. 
Though  kept  scrupulously  pure  in  Spain,  they  were  seldom  bred 
with  that  refinement  of  taste,  or  that  nice  judgment  which  dis- 
tinguishes the  accomplished  modern  breeders.    Their  management 


SHEEP. 


415 


was  too  entirely  entrusted  to  ignorant  shepherds  or  careless  agents 
to  secure  that  close  attention  which  is  essential  to  improvement. 
The  sheep  had  to  perform  a' journey  of  several  hundred  miles 
twice  in  a  year,  to  and  from  the  distant  Sierras;  and  it  was  abso- 
lutely essential  that  strong  animals  should  be  selected  for  breeding, 
and  to  secure  this  object,  those  were  frequently  used  which  were 
deficient  in  the  most  profitable  qualities.  They  were  also  closely 
bred  in-and-in,  seldom  or  never  departing  from  a  particular  flock 
to  procure  a  fresh  cross.  Their  wild,  nomadic  life,  approaching 
nearly  to  that  of  their  natural  state,  and  their  peculiarly  healthful 
pasturage  alone  prevented  a  serious  deterioration  from  this  cause. 
"When  brought  into  the  United  States,  the  flocks  were  soon 
mingled  with  each  other,  and  for  many  years  past,  probably,  not 
an  unmixed  descendant  of  any  distinct  original  flock  could  be 
traced.  Abundance  of  appropriate  food  has  been  given  them, 
without  the  labor  of  long  and  fatiguing  journeys,  and,  lastly 
there  has  been  much  care  used  in  the  selection  of  the  most  profit- 
able animals  for  breed.  The  spirit  of  improvement  has,  for  some 
years  past,  been  thoroughly  awakened  to  this  important  branch 
of  American  husbandry,  and  has  resulted  in  giving  us  numerous 
flocks  of  as  choice  sheep  as  the  world  affords,  having  all  the 
elements  within  ourselves  for  its  attainment. 

Peculiarities  of  the  Merino. — The  promment  peculiarities  of 
the  Merino,  are  the  abundance  and  fineness  of  its  fleece,  the 
tenacity  with  which  it  is  held,  its  crimped  or  spiral  form,  its 
felting  properties,  and  the  excessive  quantity  of  yolk,  giving  to 
it  that  sofi:ness  which  distinguishes  it  from  all  others.  Their  large 
horns  are  common  to  several  other  varieties.  Their  hoofs  are 
sometimes  singularly  long,  reaching  six  or  eight  inches,  when 
allowed  to  grow.  The  horns,  hoofs  and  wool  scarcely  difier  in 
their  chemical  constituents,  and  the  peculiar  development  of  the 
two  former  is  justly  considered  as  an  additional  evidence  of  their 
vv^ool-bearing  properties.  The  yolk,  in  most  of  the  sheep,  forms, 
with  the  dust  which  adheres  to  it,  a  firm  crust  on  the  exterior, 
and,  together  with  the  compactness  of  the  fleece,  it  ofiers  consid- 


416 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


erable  resistance  to  the  open  hand  on  being  pressed,  giving  the 
impression  of  rigidity.  This  outer  covering  repels  the  rain,  the 
snow,  and  the  wind,  hke  a  coat  of  mail,  thus  fitting  the  Merino 
t-o  endure  exposure  better  than  any  other  sheep.  On  opening 
the  crust,  the  wool  is  found  of  a  brilHant,  golden  hue,  sparkling 
with  yolk,  and  firmly  held  together  in  masses,  hardly  distinguish- 
able from  the  cocoon  of  the  silkworm.  The  wool  closely  covers 
every  part  of  the  body,  and  frequently  the  entire  legs  and  head, 
excepting  a  part  of  the  face. 

Another  pecuharity  of  the  Merino  is  its  longevity.  They 
attain  a  great  age  when  properly  managed,  and,  in  healthy  local- 
ities, sometimes  breed  till  a  dozen  years  of  age.  The  Merino 
may  be  described,  generally,  as  a  small-boned,  closely  made, 
medium  sized  sheep,  varying  from  sixty  pounds  of  five  weight 
for  a  small  ewe,  to  one  hundred  and  forty  poimds  for  good 
sized  wethers  and  rams,  in  ordinary  condition.  They  are  light 
in  the  shoulders  and  chest,  and  are,  altogether,  more  deficient  in 
■form  than  the  best  mutton  sheep.  This  apparent  difference  is 
materially  lessened  when  both  are  denuded  of  their  fleece,  as  the 
longer  pile  of  the  latter  covers  defects  which  would  manifest 
themselves  under  the  closer  covering  of  the  Merino.  The  quality 
of  their  flesh,  although  tolerable,  is  much  inferior  to  that  of  the  so- 
called  "mutton"  breeds. 

Breeding  Merinos. — The  general  principles  of  breeding  cattle 
and  sheep,  as  laid  down  by  the  most  approved  authorities,  must 
be  taken  w4th  some  exceptions,  when  applied  to  the  Merino. 
Good  form  and  feeding  qualities  are  desirable  in  this  breed,  but 
they  are  not  as  essential  as  with  others.  Wool  is  the  great 
object,  and  if  this  be  suflSciently  fine,  even  and  abundant,  some- 
thing may  be  abated  in  the  perfection  of  form.  Early  maturity, 
so  much  sought  after  in  the  mutton  sheep,  cannot  be  reconciled 
with  the  great  longevity  and  the  prolonged  productive  powers  of 
the  Merino.  We  must  content  ourselves,  therefore,  with  slowly 
engrafting  such  improvements  on  the  breed  as  can  be  effected 
without  prejudice  to  his  other  good  qualities,  and  look  to  his 


SHEEP. 


417 


crosses  with  others  for  such  qualities  as  are  irreconcilable  with 
his  nature.  It  is  considered  indispensable  to  the  improvement  of 
the  Merino,  that  it  be  not  bred  too  young.  A  vigorous  ewe  maj 
bring  her  first  lamb  at  two  years  old,  but  it  is  better  that  it  be 
deferred  till  three.  The  ram  should  never  be  used  till  his  second 
year,  and  then  but  sparingly.  From  two  and  one-half  to  six 
years  old  is  deemed  the  most  vigorous  age,  though  many  may  be 
safely  used  till  eight  or  ten,  and  occasionally  later.  Both  ewes 
and  rams  have  been  known  to  breed  till  twenty  years  old. 

TJie  ram  should  be  large,  stout  and  well  made,  carrying  his 
weight  as  compactly  as  possible.  The  nose  should  be  convex; 
the  face  covered  %ith  a  soft,  velvety  hair,  where  not  covered 
with  wool;  the  eye  lively  and  prominent;  the  veins  near 
the  lachrymal  glands  of  a  clear  red;  the  horns  rough;  short 
neck;  pendant  dewlap  not  objectionable;  full  chest;  broad 
shoulders;  broad,  level  back;  large  quarters;  tail  large  and  well 
set  up;  good  legs  and  sound  hoofs,  with  a  firm,  easy,  regular 
gait ;  the  head  carried  high,  with  a  look  of  boldness  and  decision, 
without  in  any  degree  approaching  to  wildness  or  ferocity.  The 
ewe  should  possess  these  characteristics  generally,  with  such 
modifications  as  are  suited  to  the  sex.  Great  care  should  be 
taken  to  breed  from  such  as  are  most  perfect  in  all  the  essential 
points  of  constitution,  form  and  size,  and  weight,  uniformity  and 
fineness  of  fleece.  The  closest  observation  is  requisite  to  select 
the  best  in  all  respects. 

Excessive  use  of  rams  can  never  be  permitted  without  decided 
injury  to  them  and  their  progeny.  If  moderately  grained  before 
and  during  their  use,  and  especially  if  kept  up,  and  allowed  to 
serve  the  ewes  once  only  as  they  come  in  heat,  the  number  may 
be  largely  increased.  A  vigorous  ram  will  suffice  for  thirty-five 
to  forty  ewes,  when  running  with  the  flock;  yet  his  powers 
would  not  be  more  taxed  by  double  or  even  treble  this  number, 
if  admitted  to  each  but  once.  If  he  is  gentle,  which  he  should 
always  be,  he  should  be  stabled  at  night  and  fed  with  grain.  If 
young  ewes  have  stolen  lambs,  they  should  be  taken  away  from 


4i8 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


them  immediately  after  yeaning,  and  the  nourishment  supphed  to 
the  lamb  by  another  ewe,  or  the  milk  of  a  cow.  The  tax  of 
nursing  is  nearly  equal  to  that  of  gestation,  and  farther  injury  to 
the  dam  may  be  avoided  by  this  practice.  Merino  ewes  have 
had  the  reputation  of  being  indifferent  nurses  in  Spain.  This  is 
owing  to  their  fatigue  in  traveling,  and  frequently  to  scanty  pas- 
turage, instead  of  any  constitutional  deficiency.  It  is  a  frequent 
practice  there,  to  kill  a  part  of  the  lambs  and  put  one  on  to  two 
ewes.  This  has  never  been  found  necessary  in  the  countries 
where  they  have  been  transplanted,  as  generous  feed  for  the 
dams  has  invariably  been  found  entirely  adequate  to  their  sup- 
port of  the  young. 

TJie  localities  in  which  Merino  sheep  can  he  'profitably  kept  in 
the  United  States^  are  wherever  the  pastures  are  sweet  and  dry, 
the  climate  not  too  hot,  and  the  land  not  too  valuable  for  other 
purposes.  Wool  is  the  great  object  of  sheep  husbandry  in  a 
large  majority  of  the  States  of  this  country,  and  when  sheep 
farms  are  remote  from  the  large  markets,  the  Merino  will  make 
the  most  profitable  returns.  In  the  neighborhood  of  cities,  and 
in  the  more  densely  populated  States,  where  large  and  fat  sheep 
and  early  lambs  bear  a  high  price,  the  mutton  sheep  maybe 
substituted. 

From  repeated  trials  in  cleansing  unwashed  fleeces  of  thorough,- 
bred  Merino  flocks  in  the  United  States,  so  as  to  be  fitted  for 
manufacturers'  use,  the  yield  is  about  35  per  cent,  of  clean  wool; 
in  other  words,  65  per  cent,  of  the  fleece,  unwashed  on  the 
sheep's  back,  is  grease  and  dirt.  There  are  some  varieties,  how- 
ever, with  less  of  the  dark  outside  crust  on  their  fleeces,  which 
will  give  a  larger  proportion  of  clean  wool  to  the  gross  weight. 

Prices  within  the  last  few  years  have  greatly  increased  for 
improved  sheep  of  Vermont  breeding.  •  One,  to  three  thousand 
dollars  each,  and  even  more,  have  been  paid  for  rams,  and  fifty 
to  five  hundred  dollars  each  for  ewes.  Although  the  animals 
may  have  been  of  superlative  merit,  such  prices  must  be  held  as 
merely  speculative.    To  show  the  vacillating  spirit  of  our  Amer- 


SHEEP. 


419 


icaii  sheep  breeders,  and  flock-masters  in  tlie  United  States,  as  a 
matter  of  history:  In  the  first  year  of  our  late  civil  war,  1861, 
the  wools  of  our  country,  soon  after  the  shearing  season,  sold  at 
an  average  of  25  to  30  cents  a  pound.  Soon  afterwards,  prices 
rose  rapidly,  until  in  1862-3-4  and  5,  they  reached  the  unprece- 
dented rates  of  $1.00  to  $1.50  per  pound,  and  the  choice  high- 
bred Vermont  Merino  rams  sold  frequently  at  $500  to  $3,000 
each ;  and  the  flocks  of  sheep  in  these  years  increased  enormously 
in  numbers.  Soon  after  peace,  prices  gradually  waned,  until  in 
1868,  both  sheep  and  wool  fell  to  the  low  prices  of  1861.  The 
furor  had  its  day,  and  now,  at  this  present  writing — November, 
1868, — large  flocks  of  valuable  sheep  in  the  Western  States  are 
selling  off  at  75  cents  to  $1.00  a  head,  and  slaughtered  for  their 
pelts  and  tallow,  although  wool  is  gradually  advancing  in  price ! 

The  Saxon,  hke  some  others,  is  one  of  the  varieties  of  the 
pure-bred  Merino,  the  foundation  of  which  was  laid  by  an  impor- 
tation of  some  of  the  choicest  animals  into  Saxony,  in  1765. 
The  great  care  and  attention  bestowed  upon  these  sheep  by  the 
Elector,  the  nobility  and  the  most  intelligent  farmers,  soon  carried 
them  to  a  point  of  uniformity  and  excellence  of  fleece,  never 
exceeded  by  the  best  of  the  original  flocks.  The  breeders  were 
selected  with  almost  exclusive  reference  to  the  quahty  of  the 
fleece.  Great  care  was  taken  to  prevent  exposure  throughout 
the  year,  and  they  were  housed  on  every  slight  emergency.  The 
consequence  of  this  course  of  breeding  and  treatment,  has  been 
to  reduce  the  size  and  weight  of  fleece,  and  partially  to  impair 
that  hardiness  and  vigor  of  constitution  which  universally  char 
acterized  the  original  Transhumantes.  In  numerous  instances, 
this  management  resulted  in  permanent  injury  to  the  character 
of  their  flocks,  which  America  has  severely  felt  in  several  impor- 
tations of  worthless  aniihals,  which  a  too  great  eagerness  for 
improvement  induced  her  flock-masters  to  use  with  the  Spanish 
Merinos  and  their  descendants,  as  a  means  for  this  object,  but 
which  has  resulted  in  the  introduction  of  fatal  diseases  and  serious 
deterioration  in  their  flocks. 


420 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


The  first  importation  of  Saxons  into  this  country  was  made  in 
1823,  of  four  good  rams,  two  of  which  went  to  Boston  and  the 
others  to  Philadelphia.  The  next  was  made  the  following  year, 
and  consisted  of  seventj-five  rams  and  ewes,  which  were  brought 
to  Boston  and  sold  at  pubhc  auction,  and  afterwards  were  scat- 
tered over  the  country.  Another  lot  of  one  hundred  and  eighty 
followed  to  the  same  place,  the  next  year,  and  was  sold  in  the 
same  manner,  but  at  an  increased  price,  some  selling  as  high  as 
$450  each.  These  prices  excited  the  spirit  of  speculation,  and 
the  following  year  witnessed  the  importation  of  near  3,000,  many 
of  which  were  decidedly  inferior.  These  were  all  thrown  upon 
the  market  for  the  most  they  would  command,  and  in  many 
instances  the  sales  not  half  covering  the  cost  of  importation,  the 
enterprise  was  abandoned  as  a  speculation  or  commercial  opera- 
tion. The  late  Henry  D.  Grove,  of  Hoosic,  New  York,  a  native 
of  Germany,  and  a  highly  intelligent  and  thoroughly  bred  shep- 
herd, accompanied  some  of  the  best  early  importations  to  this 
country.  He  selected  one  hundred  and  five  choice  animalg  for 
his  own  breeding,  which  he  imported  in  1827,  and  seventy  more 
equally  good  in  1828,  and  with  these  he  formed  the  flock  from 
which  he  bred  to  the  time  of  his  decease,  in  1844.*  There  are 
few,  if  any,  pure  flocks  of  Saxony  sheep  now  in  the  United 

*  The  average  weight  of  fleece  from  the  entire  flock  of  Mr.  Grove,  nearly  all  of 
which  were  ewes  and  lambs,  as  stated  by  him  to  the  writer,  in  1842,  was  2  pounds  14 
ounces,  thoroughly  washed  on  the  sheep's  back.  This  was  realized  after  a  short 
summer  and  winter's  keep,  when  the  quantity  of  hay  or  its  equivalent  did  not 
exceed  by  actual  weight  1)4  pounds  per  day,  except  to  the  ewes,  which  received  an 
additional  quantity  just  before  and  after  lambing.  This  treatment  was  attended 
with  no  disease  or  loss  by  death,  and  with  an  increase  of  lambs,  equalling  one  for 
every  ewe. 

In  a  flock  of  pure  Saxony  sheep  owned  by  Mr,  Smith,  of  Connecticut,  as  stated  in 
a  letter  from  the  owner,  published  in  the  ''American  Shepherd,"  one  hundred  and 
four  ewes  raised  one  hundred  and  one  lambs,  and  yielded  341  pounds  of  wool,  which 
sold  at  seventy  cents  per  pound.  For  the  eighteen  months  preceding,  he  lost  but 
three  animals  out  of  three  hundred,  from  ordinary  casualties.  But  some  flocks  do 
not,  in  good  condition,  average  over  2  pounds  per  head.  Ai^  importation,  (May, 
1846,)  mads  by  Mr.  Taintor,  of  Connecticut,  consisting  of  fouf  bucks  and  four  ewes, 
from  the  celebrated  Saxon  flock  of  Baron  de  Spreck,  showed  a  size  and  vigor  of  Qon- 
Btitution  equ'il  to  any  of  their  Merino  progenitor^. 


SHEEP.  421 

States.  They  have  proved  too  delicate  and  Hght  of  fleece  for 
ordinary  American  husbandry. 

It  will  be  understood  that  all  the  above  noticed  varieties  of 
j^we-wooled  sheep,  belong  to  the  ancient  family  of  the  "Spanish 
Merino." 

The  South-Down. — -This  valuable  sheep  has  been  known  and 
bred  for  a  long  time  on  the  chalky  downs  of  England,  where^  it 
has  always  maintained  the  character  of  a  hardy  animal,  yielding 
a  medium  quality  of  wool,  and  furnishing  mutton  of  a  superior 
flavor.  It  was  not  however,  till  within  the  last  ninety  years,  that 
any  considerable  attention  was  devoted  to  its  improvement. 
Since  that  period,  its  fine  points  have  been  remarkably  devel- 
oped, which  is  shown  in  its  improved  size  and  form,  and  its  early 
maturity  and  productiveness.  The  late  Mr.  John  Ellman,  of  Eng- 
land, was  the  first  who  -took  them  thoroughly  in  hand;  and  so 
eminent  was  his  success,  that  he  founded  a  flock  which  has  been 
the  source  from  which  all  the  best  blood  has  been  since  derived. 
His  criterion  of  a  good  South-Down  is  as  follows:  "The  head 
small  and  hornless ;  the  face  dark-brown  or  grey ;  the  lips  thin, 
and  the  space  between  the  nose  and  the  eyes  narrow;  the 
under  jaw,  or  chap,  fine  and  thin ;  the  ears  wide  apart,  and  the 
forehead,^nd  the  whole  space  between,  well  covered  with  wool 
as  a  defence  against  the  fly;  the  eye  full  and  bright;  the 
neck  of  a  medium  length,  thin  towards  the  head,  but  enlarging 
towards  the  shoulders,  where  it  should  be  broad  and  high,  and 
straight  in  its  whole  course  above  and  below ;  the  breast  should 
be  wide,  deep,  and  projecting  forwards  between  the  fore  legs, 
indicating  a  good  constitution,  and  a  disposition  to  thrive.  Cor- 
responding with  this,  the  shoulders  should  be  on  a  4evel  with  the 
back,  and  not  too  wide  above;  they  should  bow  outward  from 
the  top  to  the  breast,  indicating  a  springing  rib  beneath,  and  leav- 
ing room  for  it ;  the  ribs  coming  out  horizontally  from  the  spine, 
and  extending  far  backward,  and  the  last  rib  projecting  more  than 
the  others ;  the  back  flat  from  the  shoulders  to  the  setting  on  of 
the  tail;  the  loin  broad  and  flat;  the  rump  long  and  broad,  and 


422 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE, 


the  tail  set  high  up  and  nearly  on  a  level  with  the  spine ;  the 
hips  wide;  the  space  between  them  and  the  last  rib  on  either 
side  as  narrow  as  possible,  and  the  ribs,  generally,  presenting  a 
circular  form  like  a  barrel ;  the  belly  as  straight  as  the  back ; 
the  legs  medium  in  length,  proportionate  with  the  body;  the 
fore-legs  straight  from  the  breast  to  the  foot ;  not  bending  inward 
at  the  knee,  and  standing  far  apart  both  before  and  behind ;  the 
hocks  having  a  direction  rather  outward,  and  the  twist,  or  the 
meeting  of  the  thighs  behind,  being  particularly  full  and  well  let 
down;  the  bones  fine,  yet  having  no  appearance  of  weakness, 
and  of  a  dark  color ;  the  belly  well  defended  with  wool,  and 
the  wool  coming  down  before  and  behind  to  the  knee,  and  to  the 
hock;  the  wool,  close,  curled,  and  fine,  and  free  from  spiry  pro- 
jecting fibres." 

Other  breeders  have  commenced  where  Ellman  left  ofi*,  and 
have  apparently  pushed  their  improvement  to  its  utmost  capac- 
ity; and  especially  has  this  been  done  by  Messrs.  Grantham  and 
Webb,  the  latter  of  whom,  while  preserving  all  the  essential 
merits  of  the  sheep,  has  carried  the  live  weight  of  breeding  rams, 
to  two  hundred  pounds,  and  that  of  well  fattened  w^ethers  to 
one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  dressed  weight.  Many  of  the 
choicest  animals  have  been  imported  into  this  country,  ^nd  they 
are  now  to  be  found  in  considerable  numbers  in  many  States 
of  the  Union— probably  as  good  as  can  be  found  in  Eng- 
land. The  wool  was  formerly  short  and  used  only  for  cloths, 
flannels,  etc.  It  has  been  considerably  lengthened  in  many  of  the 
late  flocks,  and  with  the  improvements  in  the  combing  machinery, 
is  now  much  used  in  England,  as  a  combing  wool.  The  quantity 
produced  is  neTirly  equal  to  that  of  the  Merino  flocks  when  well 
kept,  varying  according  to  the  size  and  style  of  breeding,  from 
three  to  six  pounds  of  clean  washed  wool,  which  in  quantity,  does 
not  differ  materially  from  half-blood  Merino,  and  sometimes  rather  - 
exceeds  it.  The  larger  animals  of  course,  produce  fleeces  of  much 
greater  weight,  sometimes  reaching  to  eight  or  nine  poimds.  The  • 
Soutli-Down  will  subsist  on  short  pasture,  but  well  repays  full 


SHEEP. 


423 


feeding.  It  attains  early  maturity,  is  hardy  and  prolific,  fre- 
quently producing  two  at  a  birth.  Like  all  highly  improved 
English  breeds,  it  is  not  a  long-lived  sheep.  It  may  be  consid- 
ered in  its  prime  at  three.  The  wethers  may  be  fattened  at 
eighteen  to  thirty  months,  and  the  ewes  at  five  to  seven  years, 
when  first  required  as  breeders.  The  ewes  should  not  produce 
lambs  until  two  years  old. 

Shropshire-Downs. — Under  this  name  a  larger  variety  of  the 
Down  sheep  has  of  late  been  introduced  among  us.  They  are 
nearly  one-third  larger,  and  somewhat  coarser  than  the  South- 
Down,  although  descended  from  the  same  original  race — the  old 
Hampshire  Downs,  and  probably  crossed  with  one  of  the  larger 
coarse  wooled  breeds  of  England.  In  quality  and  appearance 
they  much  resemble  the  South-Downs,  but  whether  for  wool  and 
mutton  purposes  they  are  really  superior,  other  than  in  their 
weight  of  carcass  and  fleece,  is  yet  a  question.  The  pure  high- 
bred South-Down,  in  flavor  and  quality^  is  the  choicest  mutton 
sheep  that  we  have,  and  over  rolling,  or  hilly  lands,  with  sweet 
grasses,  no  other  breed  equals  them  for  that  purpose,  although 
in  the  weight  of  fleece,  in  proportion  to  that  of  the  carcass,  they 
fall  behind  the  long  wooled  varieties.  The  Shropshire-Down 
partakes,  to  much  extent,  the  same  characteristics. 

The  Long  Wooled  Breeds.— Of  these  there  are  several  in 
England,  their  native  country,  where  they  have  been  bred,  time 
immemorial.  Although  existing  under  several  different  local 
names,  they  are  now  chiefly  designated  under  those  of  Leicester, 
Cots  wold,  and  Lincoln.  They  are  hornless,  and  the  largest  class 
of  sheep  known,  with  very  white,  coarse,  open  fleeces  of  long 
fibre,  valuable  for  combing  purposes,  and  the  manufacture  of 
worsted  goods,  blankets,  and  other  cloths,  requiring  great  length 
of  staple  in  the  wool.  They  are  also  a  mutton  sheep,  taking  on 
flesh  readily,  with  good  keep,  and  feeding  up  to  an  enormous  size 
of  carcass,  (for  a  sheep,)  reaching,  in  rare  instances,  three  hund- 
red and  eighty  pounds  live  weight,  and  two  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds  in  the  dressed  carcass. 


424 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


In  their  original  condition  they  were  coarse,  rangy,  and  leggy, 
yet  always  yielding  large  fleeces.  Upwards  of  a  hundred  years 
ago  the  celebrated  English  stock  breeder,  Bakewell,  took  one  of 
the  varieties — the  Leicester — ^in  hand  for  improvement.  He 
found  them  deficient  in  form,  slow  feeders,  and  late  in  maturity. 
He  began  by  selecting  the  choicest  individual  animals  of  the  race 
he  could  find,  which  possessed  the  essential  requisites,  and  by 
good  feeding  and  management  throughout,  he  soon  brought  them 
up  to  a  character  widely  differing  from  the  originals  with  which 
he  started.  So  eminent  was  his  success,  that  in  1787,  he  let 
three  rams  for  £1,250,  (about  $6,200,)  and  was  offered  £1,- 
050,  (about  $5,200,)  for  twenty  ewes.  Soon  after  this,  he 
received  the  enormous  price  of  800  guineas,  (or  $4,000,)  for  the 
two-thirds  use  of  a  single  ram  for  a  season,  reserving  the  other 
third  for  himself.  He  reduced  the  bone  and  offal,  or  worthless 
parts  of  the  carcass,  and  increased  the  weight  of  the  valuable 
parts,  and  especially  their  tendency  to  fatten  and  early  maturity. 
This  was  effected  mainly,  by  a  nice  discrimination,  which  has 
probably  never  been  surpassed,  if  it  has  ever  been  equalled.  He 
selected  medium  sizes  for  the  breed,  with  as  much  evenness  and 
perfection  of  form  as  possible,  for  he  found  that  excellence  and 
profitable  feeding  qualities  were  seldom  connected  with  extra 
size,  large  bones,  or  imperfect  form.  He  also  observed  the  dis- 
position to  fatten  in  individuals,  and  used  only  such  as  were  con- 
spicuous in  this  respect.  He  relied  more  than  all  upon  their 
quality  of  handling^  well,  depending  even  more  upon  that  flesh- 
yielding  excellence  than  upon  the  most  symmetrical  figure.  He 
used  only  the  choicest  rams,  a  little  under  size,  while  the  ewes 
were  of  full  medium  weight.  The  progeny  were  pushed  with  a 
full  supply  of  nutritious  food,  and  systematically  brought  to  early 
maturity.  Connected  with  this,  was  his  practice  of  in-and-in 
breeding^  or  breeding  thQ  parent  upon  the  progeny,  for  several 
successive  generations,  which  had  the  tendency  still  further  to 


*  The  soft  elastic  touch  of  the  skin  a;id  underflesh,  when  pressed  by  the  fingers. 


SHEEP. 


refine  the  bone  and  offal,  and  impress  most  effectually,  the  desira- 
ble characteristics  of  the  race. 

It  is  said  that  Bake  well  carried  his  refining  system  to  such  an 
extent  as  partially  to  destroy  the  pro-creative  powers,  and  was 
subsequently  obliged  to  introduce  new  animals  to  reinvigorate 
and  continue  his  flock.  The  general  system  of  Bakewell,  how- 
ever, was  attended  with  complete  success.  He  produced  a  race 
of  animals,  not  only  far  beyond  what  England  had  ever  before 
seen,  but  which,  in  all  the  qualities  he  endeavored  to  establish, 
have  not  been  exceeded  since ;  and  his  improved  Leicesters  have 
come  down  to  the  present  day  as  perfect  as  he  left  them,  showing 
conclusively  that  he  not  only  formed,  but  stamped  the  peculiari 
ties  of  the  breed  with  a  permanence  which  yet  bears  witness  to 
his  genius. 

The  Cotswold  and  Lincoln. — Other  breeders  were  not 
slow  in  following  in  Bakewell's  footsteps  with  different  breeds, 
and  the  Cotswold  and  Lincoln,  especially,  have  become  the  sub- 
jects of  an  equally  decided  improvement,  while  the  errors  of 
Bakewell  were  entirely  avoided.  They  possess  a  rather  more 
desirable  robustness,  approaching  in  some  few  specimens  almost 
to  coarseness,  as  compared  with  the  finest  Leicesters.  It  is  con- 
tended that  the  Cotswolds  and  Lincolns  are  more  hardy  in 
constitution  than  the  more  refined  Leicesters,  but  they  have  now 
become  so  intermingled  in  their  various  crosses,  that  few  except 
experts  can  detect  the  difference  between  many  individual  sheep 
of  one  variety  or  the  other;  yet  the  improved  Leicesters  were 
undoubtedly  resorted  to,  on  one  side,  for  a  nucleus  to  their  refine- 
ment. They  attain  as  large  a  size  and  yield  as  great  an  amount 
of  wool,  of  about  the  same  value.  These  breeds  scarcely  differ 
more  from  each  other  than  do  flocks  of  a  similar  variety  which 
have  been  separately  bred  for  several  generations.  They  are 
prohfic,  and  when  well  fed  the  ewes  will  fi-equently  produce  two 
lambs  at  a  birth,  for  which  they  provide  liberally  from  their  udder 
til]  the  time  for  weaning.  The  weight  of  their  fleece,  in  all  these 
varieties,  varies  from  six  to  twelve  pounds  clean  wool  per  head. 


426  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE.  I 

Peculiarity  of  Long  "Wool  and  its  Uses. — The  striking  i 
peculiarity  of  the  long  wools  is  in  the  production  of  a  fleece, 
which  is  perfectly  adapted,  by  its  length  and  the  absence  of  the 
felting  property,  to  the  manufacture  of  worsted  stuffs,  bombazines, 
muslin  de  laines,  etc.  This  is  a  branch  of  our  manufactures  for 
which  we  had  little  material  that  was  suitable,  till  the  introduc- 
tion  of  the  long  wools;  and  its  rapid  extension  within  the  past 
few  years  clearly  shows  that  a  large  and  increasing  demand  for 
this  kind  of  wool  will  continue  at  remunerating  prices.  Besides 
its  uses  for  combing,  it  is  extensively  manufactured  into  blankets, 
carpeting,  and  many  other  fabrics. 

Their  Introduction  to  America. — Occasional  importations  of 
the  long  w^ooled  sheep  were  made  here  early  in  the  present 
century,  but  not  to  such  an  extent  as  to  make  any  sensible 
impression  upon  our  native  and  comparatively  ragged  flocks. 
The  South-Downs  took  an  early  lead  in  our  importations  of  Eng- 
lish sheep,  on  account  of  their  superior  mutton  properties.  Forty 
years  ago  the  long  wools  came  in  to  some  extent,  and  as  the 
staple  of  their  wool  has  become  more  in  demand  within  the  last 
twenty  years,  they  have  been  brought  out  in  considerable  num- 
bers. The  Enghsh  and  Scotch  farmers  of  Upper  Canada  have 
imported  them  in  considerable  numbers,  for  thirty  years  past,  and 
bred  them  in  their  highest  quaUty  and  excellence,  continually 
reinforced  by  fresh  arrivals  from  the  best  English  flocks.  Indeed, 
many  of  the  choicest  long  wools  of  the  States  have  been  obtained 
from  the  Canadian  border.  Within  a  very  few  years,  however, 
several  choice  breeding  animals  have  been  selected  from  the  best 
Enghsh  flocks,  by  our  own  enterprising  breeders,  at  prices  indi-  ■ 
eating  the  high  estimate  placed  upon  them  there ;  sums  ranging 
as  high  as  $500  to  $1,000  have  been  paid  for  individual  animals 
brought  to  the  United  States.  These  liberal  selections  have  been 
induced  not  only  for  their  superiority  in  flesh,  but  for  the  growing 
demand  for  their  fleeces,  and  their  value  for  the  improvement  of 
our  own  domestic  flocks  in  those  properties.  It  is  not  assuming  ' 
too  much  to  say  that  now,  in  both  the  United  States  and  Canada, 


SHEEP. 


427 


are  to  be  found  numerous  long  wooled  sheep  of  equal  quality  and 
value  with  any  in  Great  Britain. 

Breeding. — Like  the  South-Down,  the  long  wooled  ewe  should 
not  breed  till  nineteen  months  old,  to  bring  her  first  lamb  at  two 
years.  They  are  prolific,  frequently  bearing  twins,  and  are 
usually  good  nurses.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remark  that  the 
most  perfect  rams  should  be  selected  as  stock  getters,  and  not 
bred  until  at  least  eighteen  or  twenty  months  old,  and  for  their 
first  breeding  season  used  sparingly.  Not  more  than  fifty  ewes 
should  be  served  by  a  young  ram,  and  it  is  better  that  he  be 
confined  with  but  a  few  at  a  time,  and  his  breast  be  marked  with 
powdered  red  chalk  mixed  with  oil,  that  his  service  may  be  shown. 
Let  in  among  a  large  fiock,  when  several  ewes  are  in  heat 
together,  the  ram  often  confines  his  attention  to  a  single  ewe  for 
several  continuous  services,  thus  exhausting  his  vigor  for  no 
benefit,  and  to  the  exclusion  of  others,  when,  by  proper  atten- 
tion, he  could  serve  many.  It  is  better,  indeed,  unless  rams  be 
plenty,  that  he  be  separated  from  the  flock  at  night,  put  in  a 
stable  and  well  fed  on  grain  or  other  hearty  food,  as  a  quart  of 
oats  and  good  hay,  or  its  equivalent  in  ground  Indian  corn  meal, 
both  night  and  morning.  In  such  case,  a  ewe  not  in  heat,  or  a 
wether  or  two,  should  be  put  with  him,  as,  without  company,  he 
may  not  feed  or  drink  well,  being  continually  uneasy  when  alone. 

The  ewe  goes  with  young  about  five  months,  varying  from  145 
to  162  days.  Each  flock-master  will  of  course  determine  what  is 
the  proper  time  for  his  lambs  to  -come.  For  early  market,  or 
when  there  are  few  sheep,  and  those  well  looked  after,  they  may 
come  while  the  ewes  are  in  the  yards,  and  provision  can  be  made 
for  the  progeny,  by  placing  such  as  are  heavy,  in  warm  stalls. 
Both  the  dam  and  young  thus  receive  a  closer  attention  than  they 
would  in  the  field ;  and  afi^er  a  week's  housing  in  severe  weather, 
the  lamb  may  be  turned  out  into  the  dry  yard,  wliere  he  will  suf- 
fer no  more,  apparently,  than  the  full  grown  sheep.  But  with 
large  flocks,  early  lambing  is  attended  with  much  trouble,  and  it 
is  generally  avoided,  by  deferring  it  till  the  weather  has  become 


428  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE.  j 

more  settled,  and  a  full  bite  of  grass  will  afford  the  dam  a  plen- 
tiful supply  of  milk.  Yet  in  this  case,  the  young  sheep  must 
daily  be  under  the  eye  of  the  shepherd,  who  should  see  that  they 
are  well  supplied  with  food,  and  especially  that  they  are  brought 
under  cover  in  severe  or  stormy  weather. 

A  ram  will  serve  from  twenty  to  one  hundred  ewes  in  a  sea- 
son, according  to  his  age,  health,  feed,  and  management.  A 
South-Down  or  Long-Wool  lamb  of  seven  or  eight  months,  is 
sometimes  used  of  necessity  here,  and  when  this  is  done,  he  should 
be  well  fed,  and  allowed  to  run  only  with  a  very  few  ewes.  If 
full  grown 'rams  are  turned  into  a  lean  pasture  to  remain  with  the 
ewes,  not  less  than  four  should  be  put  in  for  every  hundred.  But 
if  a  well-fed  ram,  in  full  health  and  vigor,  is  kept  up,  and  led  out 
to  the  ewe  as  she  comes  into  heat,  and  allowed  to  serve  her  once 
only,  he  will  suffice  for  one  hundred,  without  injury  to  himself  or 
progeny.  For  this  purpose  the  ram  should  be  prepared,  not  by 
being  fat,  for  this,  neither  he  nor  the  ewe  should  ever  be;  but  by 
being  fed  with  grain  for  a  short  time  before  and  during  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  season.  The  ewes  are  more  likely  to  come 
quickly  into  heat,  and  prove  prolific,  if  lightly  fed  with  stimula- 
ting food  at  the  time.  It  is  reasonably  enough  conjectured,  that 
if  procreation  and  the  first  period  of  gestation  takes  place  in  cold 
weather,  the  foetus  will  subsequently  be  fitted  for  the  chmate 
which  rules  during  the  early  stages  of  its  existence.  If  this  be 
so,  and  it  is  certainly  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  nature, 
fine  wooled  sheep  are  most  likely  to  maintain  their  excellence, 
by  deferring  the  connection  of  the  male  till  the  commencement 
of  cold  weather;  and  in  the  northern  states,  this  is  done  about 
the  first  of  December,  which  brings  the  yeaning  time  in  the  last 
of  April  or  first  of  May,  when  the  early  grass  will  afibrd  a  good 
quality  of  feed. 

Pare-hred  sheep  of  different  character,  as  the  Long- Wools  and 
the  South-Downs,  or  Merinos,  should  not  be  crossed  or  bred  upon 
each  other  except  for  mutton  purposes,  as  such  crosses  for  breed- 
ing uses  are  almost  worthless,  giving  no  distinctness  of  character 


SITEEP. 


429 


to  their  progeny,  even  when  such  progeny  are  used  for  crossing 
on  inferior  varieties.  The  object  of  every  flock-master,  whether 
he  breed  for  mutton  or  for  wool,  if  they  be  of  an  inferior  race  or 
quahty,  should  be  to  raise  the  quality  of  his  sheep.  The  Merino, 
if  kept  at  all,  should  be  for  wool,  as  the  main  object,  and  let  the 
mutton,  if  mutton  be  made  of  them  at  all,  take  care  of  itself. 
They  are  not  a  mutton  sheep^  compared  with  either  of  the  proper 
mutton  breeds.  Yet  if  the  owner  of  them  wants  to  turn  them 
into  that  hue,  the  South-Down  ram  only,  of  the  mutton  breeds, 
should  be  used,  as  the  larger  Long- Wool  rams  make  too  violent 
a  cross,  by  their  great  size,  on  the  diminutive  carcasses  of  the 
others.  We  have  bred  very  passable  mutton  sheep  in  such  way, 
but  would  prefer  the  coarse  native  ewes,  even  for  such  an  object. 

The  South-Down  ewe  should  never  be  put  to  a  Long- Wool 
ram.  The  ewe,  compact  in  form,  and  closely  built,  has  not  suf- 
ficient room  for  a  proper  growth  of  the  larger  foetus,  and  is  sub- 
ject to  great  danger  in  yeaning.  But  reverse  the  order — the 
South-Down  ram  to  the  Long- Wool  ewe — such  crossing,  for 
mutton  purposes,  may  be  made  to  great  advantage.  Her  larger 
breadth  and  size  gives  ample  space  to  the  expansion  and  growth 
of  the  foetus,  and  a  fine  and  perfect  lamb  is  the  product.  So  also 
may  the  open,  coarser  boned  common  ewe  be  bred  to  either  the 
Long- Wool  or  South-Down  ram,  her  elastic  frame  yielding  to  the 
expansion  of  the  larger  foetus  sufficiently  to  give  it  good  growth 
and  nourishment.  Two  or  three  continuous  crosses  in  this  way, 
breeding  up  the  ewes  thus  produced  to  thorough-bred  rams,  soon 
gives  the  essential  quahties,  both  in  fleece  and  flesh,  of  the  full 
blood  to  the  ascending  progeny.  We  have  so  bred  them  for 
many  years,  getting  up  very  good  sheep  from  the  most  execra- 
ble beginnings,  on  almost  worthless  common  ewes,  in  two  or  three 
generations.  For  market  lambs,  perhaps  no  more  profitable  way 
can  be  practiced  than  to  obtain  as  good  common  ewes  as  may  be 
selected,  at  a  low  price,  using  thorough-bred  rams  of  either  the 
South-Down  or  Long- Wool  breeds  for  the  purpose.  The  com- 
mon ewes  are  generally  good  nurses,  and  afl;er  the  lambs  are  dis- 


430  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 

posed  o5  the  ewes  may  be  tolerably  fatted  in  good  pastures  for 
winter  mutton,  or  still  kept  over  for  further  breeding.  Such 
breeding,  for  market  lambs,  is  a  profitable  business  in  the  vicinity 
of  good  markets,  and  may  be  followed  to  advantage. 

Where  mutton  is  in  demand,  and  bears  a  good  price,  sheep 
feeding  is  profitable — if  of  the  mutton  varieties.  But  they 
should  be  chiefly  fatted  on  grass.  A  lean  sheep,  when  going 
into  winter  quarters,  can  never  pay  for  making  flesh  on  grain 
and  hay.  If  of  proper  breed,  he  may  be  fed  the  season  afl:er 
two  years  old,  and  turned  off  to  better  profit  than  when  kept 
longer. 

Winter  Management  and  Food. — Sheep  should  be  brought 
into  winter  quarters  soon  after  the  severe  frosts  occur,  as  these 
diminish  the  feed  and  materially  impair  its  nutritious  qualities. 
They  ought  also  to  be  removed  from  the  grass  lands  before  they 
become  permanently  softened  by  the  rains,  as  they  will  injuri- 
ously affect  their  comfort  and  health;  and  it  is  equally  objection- 
able from  their  poaching  the  sod.  If  the  number  be  large  when 
brought  to  the  yards,  they  must  be  carefully  divided  into  flocks 
of  one  hundred  or  less,  according  to  the  size  of  the  yards  and 
sheds.  The  young  and  feeble  must  be  separated  from  the  others, 
and  the  aihng  ones  placed  by  themselves,  and  that  no  one  may 
suffer  from  the  others,  all  should  be  classed  as  uniformly  as 
possible,  as  to  strength.  The  yards  must  be  dry,  well  supplied 
with  a  trough  of  fresh  water,  and  with  comfortable  sheds  to 
which  they  can  retire  when  they  choose.  In  snowy  winters,  if 
water  be  not  handy,  snow  wiU  supply  its  place  quite  well 

Shelters  in  northern  chmates  are  indispensable  to  profitable 
sheep  raising,  and  in  every  latitude  north  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
they  would  be  advantageous.  There  is  pohcy  as  weU  as  humanity 
in  the  practice.  An  animal  eats  much  less  when  thus  protected  ; 
he  is  more  thrifty,  less  liable  to  disease,  and  his  manure  is  richer 
and  more  abundant.  The  feeding  may  be  done  in  the  open  yard 
in  clear  weather,  and  under  cover  in  severe  storms.  The  shelters 
for  sheep  are  variously  constructed,  to  suit  the  taste  or  circum- 


SHEEP. 


431 


stances  of  the  flock-master.  Sheep  barns  built  upon  a  side  hill 
will  afford  underground  floors,  surrounded  by  three  sides  of  wall 
and  opening  to  the  south,  with  sliding  or  swinging  doors  to  guard 
against  storms,  and  sufficient  storage  for  the  fodder  may  be  made 
by  scaffolds;  or  they  may  be  constructed  with  twelve  or  fifteen 
feet  posts,  on  level  ground,  allowing  them  to  occupy  the  lower 
part,  with  the  fodder  stored  above.  In  all  cases,  however, 
thorough  ventilation  should  he  provided^  for  of  the  two  evils  of 
exposure  to  cold  or  too  great  privation  of  air,  the  former  is  to  be 
preferred.  Sheep  cannot  long  endure  close  confinement  without 
injury.  In  all  ordinary  weather,  a  shed,  closely  boarded  on  three 
sides,  with  a  close  roof,  is  sufficient  protection,  especially  if  the 
open  side  is  shielded  from  bleak  winds,  or  leads  into  a  well 
enclosed  yard.  If  the  apartment  above  is  used  for  storage,  the 
floors  should  be  made  tight,  that  no  hay,  chaff  or  dust  can  fall 
upon  the  fleece. 

Racks  or  Mangers  are  indispensable  to  economical  feeding. 
If  the  hay  is  fed  on  the  ground,  the  leaves  and  seeds,  the  most 
valuable  part  of  the  fodder,  are  almost  wholly  lost,  and  when 
wet,  the  sheep,  in  their  restlessness  while  feeding,  will  tread  much 
of  it  into  the  mud.  To  make  an  economical  box  or  rack,  take 
six  light  pieces  of  scantling,  say  three  inches  square,  one  for  each 
corner,  and  one  for  the  center  of  each  side.  Boards  of  pine 
or  hemlock,  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  long  and  twelve  or  fourteen 
inches  wide,  may  then  be  nailed  on  to  the  bottom  of  the  posts 
for  the  sides,  which  are  separated  by  similar  boards  at  the  ends, 
two  and  one-half  feet  long.  Boards  twelve  inches  wide,  raised 
above  the  lower  ones  by  a  space  of  nine  to  twelve  inches,  are 
nailed  on  the  sides  and  ends,  which  completes  the  rack.  The 
edges  of  the  opening  should  be  made  perfectly  smooth,  to  prevent 
chafing  the  wool.  The  largest  dimensions  above  given  are  suit- 
able for  the  larger  breeds,  and  the  smallest  for  Merinos,  and  still 
smaller  are  proper  for  their  lambs.  These  should  be  set  on  dry 
ground,  or  under  the  sheds,  and  they  can  easily  be  removed 
whenever  necessary.    Some  prefer  the  racks  made  with  slats,  or 


432 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


smooth,  upright  sticks,  in  the  form  of  the  usual  horse  rack.  There 
is  no  objection  to  this,  but  it  should  always  be  accompanied  by  a 
board  trough  affixed  to  the  bottom,  to  catch  the  fine  hay  which 
falls  in  feeding.  These  may  be  attached  to  the  side  of  a  building, 
or  used  double.  A  small  lamb  requires  fifteen  inches  of  space, 
and  a  large  sheep  two  feet,  for  quiet,  comfortable  feeding,  and  at 
least  this  amount  of  room  should  be  provided  around  the  racks 
for  every  sheep. 

Troughs  may  be  variously  constructed.  The  most  economical 
are  made  with  two  boards  of  any  convenient  length,  ten  to  twelve 
inches  wide.  Nail  the  lower  side  of  one  upon  the  edge  of  the 
other,  fastening  both  into  a  two  or  three  inch  plank,  fifteen  inches 
long  and  a  foot  wide,  notched  in  its  upper  edge  in  the  form 
required. 

J^OOD. — There  is  no  better  food  for  sheep  than  good  upland 
hay,  composed  of  the  clovers  and  nearly  all  the  cultivated  grasses. 
Bean  and  pea  straw  are  valuable,  and  especially  the  former, 
which,  if  properly  cured,  they  prefer  to  the  best  hay;  and  it  is. 
well  adapted  to  the  production  of  wool.  All  the  other  straws 
furnish  a  good  food,  and  sheep  will  thrive  on  them  without  hay, 
when  fed  with  roots  or  grain.  Roots  ought  to  be  given  them 
occasionally  for  a  change,  and  especially  to  the  ewes  after  lamb- 
ing, if  this  occur  before  putting  them  on  to  fresh  pasture.  They 
keep  the  stomach  properly  distended,  the  appetite  and  general 
health  good,  and  they  render  their  winter  forage  nearly  equal  to 
their  summer  feed.  Much  grain  is  not  suited  to  store  sheep.  It 
is  too  rich,  and  should  be  given  sparingly,  except  to  the  lambs, 
the  old  ewes  or  feeble  sheep,  or  to  restore  the  rams  after  hard 
service.  For  the  above  purposes,  oats  are  the  best ;  and  if  any 
other  grain,  beans  or  peas  are  given,  it  should  be  in  small  quan- 
tities. When  there  is  a  deficiency  of  hay  and  roots,  grain  may 
be  used  with  straw.  But  the  flock  ought  to  be  so  fed  as  to 
receive  the  same  amount  of  nourishment  throughout  every  part 
of  the  year.  The  evenness  and  value  of  the  fleece  depends  much 
upon  this.    When  the  amount  of  nutrition  is  great,  the  wool- 


SHEEP. 


433 


secreting  organs  are  distended,  and  the  fiber  becomes  enlarged; 
when  Hrnited,  they  necessarily  contract,  and  the  fiber  is  small. 
This  produces  a  want  of  trueness,  which  the  experienced  wool 
stapler  readily  detects,  and  does  not  fail  to  estimate  against  the 
value  of  the  fleece.  Sheep  ought  to  have  a  full  supply  of  salt, 
and,  if  accessible,  sulphur,  ashes,  tar  and  clay  would  frequently 
be  nibbled  by  them  when  their  stomach  required  either.  Pine  or 
hemlock  boughs  are  a  good  substitute  for  tar,  and  afford  a  most 
healthful  change  in  the  winter  food  of  sheep.  Entire  cleanhness 
and  dryness  are  also  essential  to  the  health  of  the  flock.  The 
smaller  sizes  of  sheep  may  be  well  sustained  on  two  and  a  half 
pounds  of  hay,  but  larger  sheep  will  consume  from  three  and  a 
half  to  four,  or  even  five  pounds  per  day.  Sheep,  like  all  other 
animals,  when  exposed  to  cold,  will  consume  much  more  than  if 
well  protected,  or  than  during  a  warmer  season. 

The  care  of  the  ewes  with  young ^  is  an  important  consideration, 
as  the  lamb  is  sometimes  the  only  profit  yielded  by  the  flock,  for 
when  fodder  is  high  or  wool  low,  the  fleece  will  barely  pay  for 
the  food  and  attention.  Pregnant  ewes  require  the  same  food  as 
at  all  other  times,  but  caution  is  necessary  to  prevent  injury  or 
abortion,  which  is  often  the  result  of  excessive  fat,  feebleness,  or 
disease.  The  first  may  be  remedied  by  spare  diet,  and  both  the 
last  by  restored  health  and  generous  food.  Sudden  fright,  as 
from  dogs  or  strange  objects,  long  or  severe  journeys,  great  exer- 
tions, unwholesome  food,  blows  in  the  region  of  the  foetus,  and 
some  other  causes,  produce  abortion. 

Yeaning, — Most  flocks  are  turned  into  the  pasture  before 
yeaning  time,  and  the  ewe  is  then  lefii  to  nature,  which  is  a  good 
practice,  if  she  is  healthy  and  the  weather  good.  But  a  larger 
number  of  lambs  will  be  reared  by  a  careful  oversight  of  the 
ewes  and  the  use  of  proper  precautions.  As  their  time  approaches, 
which  may  be  known  by  the  springing  of  the  udder  and  the 
enlargement  of  the  maternal  parts,  they  should  be  put  by  them- 
selves at  night,  in  a  warm  stable,  or  with  others  in  the  same  con- 
dition, and  well  looked  after,  late  and  early  in  the  day.  They 
19 


434 


AMEBICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


seldom  need  any  assistance,  nor  should  any  be  rendered,  except 
m  case  of  wrong  presentation,  or  feebleness  in  expelling  the 
foetus.  In  the  former  case,  the  shepherd  may  apply  his  thumb 
and  finger,  after  oiling,  and  push  back  the  young,  and  assist  in 
gently  turning  it  till  the  nose  and  .fore  feet  appear;  and  for  the 
latter,  only  the  slightest  aid  should  be  rendered,  and  that  to  help 
the  throes  of  the  dam. 

Management  of  Lambs. — When  lambing  in  the  field,  only  a 
few  should  be  together,  as  the  young  sometimes  get  changed,  and 
the  dams  refuse  to  own  them.  This  difficulty  is  generally  obvia- 
ted by  holding  the  ewe  till  the  lamb  has  sucked  two  or  three 
times,  or  they  may  be  shut  up  together,  and  the  lamb  rubbed 
with  a  httle  fine  salt.  The  lamb  does  not  require  nourishment 
for  some  hours;  but  if  the  dam  refuse  to  lick  it  as  soon  as  it 
appears,  it  must  be  carefully  wiped  dry.  If  the  weather  be  cold 
and  the  lamb  is  dropped  in  the  field,  the  shepherd  should  be 
furnished  with  large  pockets  or  a  weU-lined  basket,  in  which  it 
must  be  placed  till  the  ewe  is  brought  to  the  shed.  After  the 
first  day  or  two,  the  udders  ought  to  be  completely  drained  of 
their  milk,  by  the  hand,  so  as  to  prevent  swollen  or  caked  bag. 
In  case  of  deficiency  of  milk,  the  lamb  may  be  supplied  from  a 
new  milk  cow,  by  means  of  a  sucking  bottle  with  an  air  vent,  or 
it  may  draw  a  part  of  its  nourishment  from  another  ewe,  which 
can  be  held  while  the  lamb  is  sucking.  It  is  sometimes  necessary 
to  substitute  a  foster-mother,  in  which  case  the  ewe  may  be  made 
to  own  the  lamb,  by  milking  from  her  udder  over  the  lamb  and 
under  his  tail,  rubbing  it  on  well;  or  rub  the  adopted  lamb  with 
the  entrails  and  contents  of  the  stomach  of  the  dead  lamb,  or 
cover  it  with  the  skin.  If  the  ewe  proves  a  bad  nurse,  or  it  is 
desirable  to  bring  the  lambs  forward  rapidly,  they  may  be  early 
taught  to  eat  boiled  oats  or  other  grain,  cabbage,  roots  and  tender 
hay.  Lambs  should  be  well  fed,  as  it  is  important  to  produce 
size,  constitution  and  perfection  of  form.  The  ewes  and  their 
young  ought  to  be  divided  into  small  flocks,  and  have  good 
pasture.    Some  careful  shepherds  adopt  the  plan  of  confining 


SHEEP. 


435 


their  lambs,  and  allow  them  to  suck  two  or  three  times  a  day,  by 
which  they  suffer  no  fatigue  and  thrive  much  faster.  But  this 
is  troublesome  and  injurious,  as  the  exercise  is  essential  to  the 
health  and  constitution  of  the  lamb  intended  for  rearing.  It  is 
admissible  only  when  they  are  wanted  for  an  early  market,  and 
by  those  who  keep  sheep  for  this  purpose,  it  is  a  common  practice. 

Castrating  and  Docking  Lambs. — After  selecting  enough  of 
the  choicest  rams  for  stock  getters,  the  castratmg  may  be  per- 
formed at  any  time  between  two  and  six  weeks  old,  when  the 
f  amb  is  in  good  health.  A  cool  day  should  be  chosen,  or  if  warm, 
it  must  be  done  early  in  the  morning.  The  best  method  is  for 
one  person  to  hold  the  lamb  firmly  between  his  arms,  about 
breast  high  as  he  stands,  while  another,  with  a  sharp  knife,  cuts 
off  the  low^r  part  of  the  scrotum.  The  testicles  are  then  drawn 
out  till  the  spermatic  cord  is  reached,  which  is  gently  pulled  out 
and  cut  with  a  sharp  knife.  It  is  sometimes  done  by  simply 
opening  the  scrotum,  when  the  testicles  and  spermatic  cord  are 
jerked  out.  This,  however,  is  a  severe  and  cruel  way,  and  not 
so  safe  as  the  other.  The  wound  should  then  be  rinsed  with  cold 
water,  after  which  apply  lard.  The  operation  of  docking,  is  by 
many  deferred  till  a  late  period,  from  apprehension  of  too  much 
loss  of  blood;  but  if  the  weather  be  favorable  and  the  lamb  in 
good  condition,  it  may  be  performed  at  this  time  with  the  least 
trouble  and  without  injury.  The  tail  should  be  laid  upon  the 
plank,  the  person  holding  him  in  the  same  position  as  before. 
With  one  hand  he  draws  the  skin  towards  the  body,  while  the 
other  person,  with  a  two  inch  chisel  and  mallet,  strikes  it  off  at  a 
blow  between  the  bone  joints,  leaving  it  one  and  a  half  to  two 
inches  long.  The  skin  immediately  sHps  back  over  the  wound 
and  is  soon  healed.  Ewe  lambs  should  be  docked  closer  than 
the  rams.  To  prevent  flies  and  maggots,  and  assist  in  healing, 
it  is  well  to  apply  an  ointment  composed  of  lard  and  tar,  in  the 
proportion  of  four  pounds  of  the  former  to  one  quart  of  the  lat- 
ter. Spirits  of  turpentine  is  more  conveniently  applied,  and 
equally  good.    This  is  also  a  good  application  for  the  scrotum. 


436 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


The  lambs  should  be  carefully  protected  from  cold  and  wet  till 
they  are  perfectly  well. 

Tagging  or  Clatting^  is  the  removal  of  such  wool  as  is  liable 
to  get  fouled  when  the  sheep  are  turned  on  to  the  fresh  pastures, 
and  of  course  it  should  be  done  just  before  leaving  their  winter 
quarters.  It  is  most  easily  accomplished  by  placing  the  animal 
on  a  low  table,  or  a  floor,  or  on  the  ground,  or  even  standing, 
another  person  holding  it,  till  the  operation  is  performed.  All 
the  wool  near  the  extremity  of  the  sheath  and  the  scrotum  of 
the  males,  from  the  udder  of  the  ewes,  and  from  the  dock,  and 
below  it,  the  inside  of  the  thighs,  and  from  the  legs  of  the  sheep, 
should  be  removed. 

Summer  Management. — As  soon  as  the  warm  weather 
approaches  and  the  grass  appears,  sheep  become  ^-restive  and 
impatient  for  the  pasture.  This  instinct  should  be  repressed  till 
the  ground  has  become  thoroughly  dry,  and  the  grass  has 
acquired  substance.  They  ought,  moreover,  to  be  provided  for 
the  change  of  food,  by  the  daily  use  of  roots  for  a  few  days  before 
turning  out.  It  would  also  check  the  tendency  to  excessive  purg- 
ing, which  is  induced  by  the  first  spring  feed,  if  they  were  housed 
at  night,  and  fed  for  the  first'  few  days  with  a  little  sound,  sweet 
hay.  Or,  if  a  weU  grown  fall  pasture  be  left  the  previous  fall, 
we  have  found  it  equally  good,  as  the  sheep  feed  off  the  old 
grass,  and  the  young  herbage  springing  up  through  it,  they  grad- 
ually work  from  one  into  the  other,  and  thus  get  on  to  their  sum- 
mer food  without  detriment.  They  must  be  provided  with  pure 
water,  salt,  etc.,  as  in  winter,  for  though  they  may  sometimes  do 
tolerably  well  without  either,  yet  thrift  and  freedom  from  disease 
are  cheaply  secured  by  this  slight  attention.  Dry,  sweet  pas- 
tures, and  such  as  abound  in  aromatic  and  bitter  plants,  are  best 
suited  for  sheep-walks.  No  animal,  with  the  exception  of  the 
goat,  crops  so  great  a  variety  of  plants.  They  eat  many  which 
are  rejected  by  the  horse  and  the  ox,  and  which  are  even  essen- 
tial to  their  own  wants.  In  this  respect,  they  are  valuable  assist 
ants  to  the  husbandman,  as  they  feed  greedily  on  w41d  mustard, 


SHEEP. 


437 


burdocks,  thistles,  marsh-mallows,  milk-weed  and  various  other 
offending  plants;  and  the  Merino  exceeds  the  more  recent  breeds 
in  the  variety  of  his  selections.  Many  prepare  artificial  pastures 
for  their  flocks.  This  may  be  done  with  a  number  of  plants. 
Winter  rye  or  wheat  sown  early  in  the  season,  may  be  fed  off  in 
the  fall  without  injury  to  the  crop;  and  in  the  following  spring 
the  rye  may  be  pastured  till  the  stalks  shoot  up  and  begin  to  form 
a  head.  This  affords  an  early  and  nutritious  food.  Corn  may 
be  sown  broadcast  or  thickly  in  drills,  and  either  fed  off  in  the 
fields,  or  cut  and  carried  to  the  sheep  in  their  folds.  An  experi- 
ment made  with  white  mustard  for  feeding  sheep,  is  detailed 
under  the  head  of  that  article,  which  shows  it  to  be  a  valuable 
crop  for  this  purpose.  Sheep  love  a  wide  range,  and  when  suf- 
ficient pasturage  is  afforded,  which  always  should  be,  it  is  better 
to  give  them  a  steady  feeding  than  to  often  change  from  dry  to 
green,  flashy  food,  causing  them  to  scour. 

Washtn-g  Sheep. — ^In  most  of  that  portion  of  the  Union 
-  north  of  40°,  the  washing  is  performed  from  the  middle  of  Ma}? 
to  the  tenth  of  June,  aiscording  to  the  season  and  climate.  When 
the  streams  are  hard^  which  frequently  is  the  case  in  lime-stone 
regions,  it  is  better  to  do  this  immediately  after  an  abundant  rain, 
by  which  the  lime  derived  from  the  springs  is  proportionally  less- 
ened. The  practice  of  a  large  majority  of  our  farmers,  is  to 
drive  their  sheep  to  the  washing^ground,  early  in  the  morning  of 
a  warm  day,  leaving  the  lambs  behind.  The  sheep  are  confined 
on  the  bank  of  the  stream  by  a  temporary  enclosure,  from  which 
they  are  taken,  and  if  not  too  heavy,  are  carried  into  water  suf- 
ficiently deep  to  prevent  their  touching  bottom.  They  are  then 
washed  by  gently  squeezing  the  fleece  with  the  hands,  after 
which  they  are  led  ashore,  and  as  much  of  the  water  pressed  out 
as  possible  before  letting  them  go,  as  the  great  weight  retained 
in  the  wool,  frequently  staggers  and  throws  them  down.  A 
good  practice  is  to  lead  the  sheep  into  the  water  and  saturate  the 
fleece,  after  which  they  are  taken  ashore.  When  they  commence 
steaming^  they  are  again  led  into  the  water,  and  washed  clean. 


438 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


This  insures  thorough  cleansing  where  water  is  pure.  Others 
make  use  of  a  shallow  boat,  or  scow,  one  end  of  which  rests 
on  a  bold  shore  and  the  other  is  in  deep  water.  The  operator 
stands  in  the  boat  and  plunges  the  animal  over  the  side  where 
the  washing  is  performed;  or  it  is  sometimes  done  by  sinking  a 
tight  hogshead  or  large  box  in  the  running  water,  with  heavy- 
weights, in  which  a  man  stands,  and  the  sheep  are  brought  or  led 
to  and  from  him  by  another  person  who  walks  on  a  platform 
reaching  from  the  bank  to  the  vat.  Either  of  the  last  methods 
obviates  the  necessity  of  standing  for  a  long  time  in  water,  by 
which  colds,  rheumatism,  etc.,  are  frequently  contracted.  In 
parts  of  Germany,  and  sometimes  in  this  country,  sheep  are 
forced  to  swim  across  a  narrow  stream  several  times,  by  which 
the  fleece  is  tolerably  cleaned^  if  all  the  water  be  pressed  out 
when  they  get  to  the  land.  The  yolk  being  a  saponaceous  com- 
pound, not  an  oily  matter,  as  is  generally  supposed,  it  readily 
combines  with  the  water  and  passes  out  of  the  wool.  An  excel- 
lent practice  when  streams  are  not  convenient,  is  to  lead  a  small 
ripple  of  soft  water  into  a  tub.  To  this  a  little  soap  is  added, 
after  which  the  sheep  are  immersed  and  thoroughly  cleansed. 
Perfect  whiteness  and  purity  of  the  fleece  is  readily  obtained 
afterwards,  by  throwing  over  the  sheep  a  jet  of  water.  This 
practice  has  a  good  effect,  in  preventing  or  removing  cuta- 
neous disorders  and  destroying,  ticks  or  other  vermin.  Many 
good  farmers  object  to  washing  sheep,  from  its  tendency  to  pro- 
duce colds  and  catarrhal  affections,  to  which  sheep  are  par- 
ticularly subject;  but  it  cannot  well  be  dispensed  with,  as  the 
wool  is  always  more  salable,  and  if  carefully  done,  need  not  be 
attended  with  injury.  Warm  settled  weather,  however,  is  indis- 
pensable to  washing  with  safety  to  the  general  health  of  the 
sheep. 

SHEARiNa. — The  manner  of  shearing  varies  with  almost  every 
district ;  but  as  this  is  an  art  to  be  acquired  under  a  skillful  mas- 
ter, we  shall  omit  particular  details  on  the  subject.  First  clip  all 
the  tags  and  filth,  if  any  remains  or  has  been  accumulated  after 
the  tagging  in  the  spring;  then  take  off  the  fleece  and  spread  it 


SHEEP. 


439 


with  the  outside  uppermost  on  a  smooth  bench  or  table,  and  push 
the  wool  carefully  together,  to  render  it  more  compact;  double 
the  sides  over  to  the  center ;  throw  the  clean  loose  locks  into  the 
middle,  and  roll  together  from  each  end.    This  makes  a  smooth, 
dense  package,  which  is  secured  by  passing  a  stout  twine  one  or 
more  times  around  the  sides  and  ends.    All  the  wool  from  the 
extremities  should  be  closely  sheared  and  saved  by  it^self,  before 
dismissing  the  sheep,  but  never  put  up  with  choice  fleeces.  If 
wounds  are  made^  which  is  sometimes  the  case  with  unskillful 
operators,  a  mixture  of  tar  and  grease  ought  to  be  appHed. 
After  shearing,  such  horns  and  hoofs  as  are  likely  to  be  trouble- 
some, should  be  sawed  and  pared.    The  branding  or  marking  is 
essential  to  distinguish  them  from  other  flocks,  and  this  is  done 
by  clipping  a  cut  of  some  shape,  or  punching  a  hole  or  holes 
through  one  or  both  ears,  or  painting  on  the  shoulder,  side  or 
rump.    A  brush  or  marking  iron  is  used  for  this  latter  purpose, 
with  paint  made  of  red  lead  or  lamp  black,  to  which  a  little  spir- 
its of  turpentine  is  first  added,  and  then  diluted  with  linseed  or 
lard  oil.    If  the  weather  be  cool,  and  especially  if  severe  storms 
occur  after  washing  or  shearing,  the  flock  should  be  housed.  If 
sultry,  they  should  have  a  cool,  shady  retreat,  where  they  will 
be  shielded  from  the  flies  and  heat.     Bhsters  and  permanent 
injury  to  the  skin  and  fleece,  are  frequently  the  result  of  such 
exposure.    Shade  trees  in  their  pastures,  contribute  much  to  the 
comfort  of  sheep,  when  exposed  to  a  blazing  sun.     A  close 
examination  of  the  skin  should  be  made  at  shearing,  for  the 
detection  of  disease  or  vermin. 

Smearing,  or  salving  sheep,  is  a  custom  little  practiced  in 
this  country.  For  cold,  elevated  and  exposed  situations,  it  may 
be  necessary,  and  it  is  generally  adopted  in  Scotland.  The  object 
is  to  prevent  cutaneous  diseases  and  vermin,  and  furnish  addi- 
tional warmth  and  protection  to  the  fleeces  of  such  breeds  as  are 
deficient  in  yolk.  It  is  usually  performed  the  latter  part  of  Octo- 
ber, but  is  sometimes  done  immediately  after  shearing.  The 
mixture  or  salve  consists  of  tar  and  butter  or  grease,  in  difierent 
proportions;  one  gallon  of  the  former  to  twelve,  or  sometimes 


440  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE.  1 

twenty  pounds,  of  the  latter;  the  greater  proportion  of  tar  being 
required  for  the  younger  sheep,  or  for  more  exposed  situations. 
The  grease  is  melted  over  the  jSre,  and  the  tar  stirred  in,  and 
when  sufficiently  cool,  it  is  appHed  to  the  whole  body  of  the 
sheep,  by  carefally  parting  the  wool  and  rubbing  it  on  the  skin 
with  the  fingers.  The  above  quantity  is  sufficient  for  thirty  or 
fifty  sheep,  according  to  their  size  and  the  character  of  the  wool. 
This  application  is  not  required  for  fine-wooled  sheep,  whose 
fleeces  are  more  appropriately  protected  by  a  natural  secretion  of 
yolk;  -  and  it  is  better  to  omit  it  in  all  cases,  where  the  health  and 
comfort  of  the  animal  do  not  render  it  absolutely  essential.  Mr 
Stewart,  an  experienced  Scotch  sh^herd,  uses  only  tallow  and ' 
train  oil,  mixed  in  equal  proportions.  He  asserts  that  the 
improvement  in  the  growth  and  quality  of  the  wool  is  at  least 
one-third,  and  it  materially  benefits  the  condition  of  the  sheep 
We  have  seldom,  or  never,  known  it  practiced  in  this  country. 

Weaning. — The  lambs  may  be  weaned  at  about  three  and 
a  half  to  four  months  old.  They  should  be  put  upon  rich,  sweet 
feed,  but  not  too  luxuriant ;  while  the  dams  are  turned  upon  the 
poorest,  and  so  remote  from  their  young,  as  to  be  out  of  sight 
and  hearing.  The  ewes  ought  to  be  carefully  examined  after  a 
ii  day  or  two,  and  if  necessary,  the  milk  removed  with  the  hand. 
If  it  continues  to  accumulate,  the  ewe  may  be  fed  on  hay  for  a 
few  days.  When  thoroughly  dried  off,  they  should  have  the 
best  fare  to  recover  condition  for  subsequent  breeding  and  win- 
tering. The  fall  is  a  critical  period  to  lose  flesh,  either  for  sheep 
or  lambs ;  and  if  any  are  found  deficient,  they  should  be  at  once 
provided  for  by  extra^feed  and  attention.  If  cold  weather  over- 
takes them  poor,  or  in  ill  health,  they  will  scarcely  outhve  it;  or 
if  by  chance  they  survive,  their  emaciated  carcass,  impaired  con- 
stitution, and  scant  fleece  will  illy  repay  the  food  and  attention 
they  will  have  cost. 

The  time  for  taking  sheep  from  the  pastures  must  depend  on 
the  state  of  the  weather  and  food.  Severe  frosts  destroy  much 
of  the  nutriment  in  tlie  grasses,  and  they  soon  after  cease  to 


4 


SHEEP. 


441 


afford  adequate  nourishment.  Long  exposure  to  cold  storms  upon 
such  lands,  with  such  food  to  sustain  them,  will  rapidly  reduce 
their  condition.  The  only  safe  rule  is  to  transfer  them  to  their 
winter  quarters  the  first  day  they  cease  to  thrive  abroad.  Draft- 
ing the  flock  for  the  purpose  of  ridding  it  of  the  supernumeraries, 
should  be  done  at  an  earlier  day.  Such  of  the  wethers  as  have 
attained  their  prime,  and  those  ewes  that  have  passed  it,  ought 
to  be  withdrawn  soon  after  shearing,  provided  with  the  best 
feed,  and  rapidly  fitted  for  the  shambles.  If  they  have  been 
properly  pushed  on  grass,  they  will  be  in  good  flesh  by  the  time 
they  are  taken  from  it,  and  if  not  intended  for  stall-feeding,  the 
sooner  they  are  then  disposed  of  the  better.  Stall-feeding  will 
be  lost  on  an  ill-shaped,  unthrifty  beast.  The  perfection  of  form 
and  health,  and  the  uniform  good  condition  which  characterize  the 
thrifty  one,  indicate  too  plainly  to  be  misunderstood,  those  which 
will  best  repay  the  care  of  their  owner.  The  selection  of  any 
indifferent  animal  for  stall-fattening,  will  inevitably  be  attended 
with  loss,  and  they  had  better  at  once  be  disposed  of  when  first 
brought  from  the  pasture,  for  the  most  they  will  bring. 

Management  of  Sheep  for  the  Prairies. — "When  destined 
for  the  prairies,  they  ought  to  commence  the  journey  as  early 
after  shearing  as  possible.  They  are  then  disencumbered  of  their 
fleece,  and  do  not  datcli  and  retain  as  much  dust  as  when  driven 
later.  Feed  is  also  generally  better,  and  the  roads  are  dry  and 
hard.  Young  and  healthy  sheep  should  be  selected,  with  early 
lambs ;  or  if  the  latter  are  too  young,  and  the  distance  great,  they 
should  be  left  and  the  ewes  dried  ofi*.  A  large  wagon  ought  to 
accompany  the  flock,  to  carry  such  as  occasionally  give  out;  or 
they  may  be  disposed  of  whenever  they  become  enfeebled. 
With  good  care,  a  hardy  flock  may  be  driven  at  the  rate  of 
twelve  or  fourteen  miles  a  day.  Constant  watchfulness  is  requi- 
site to  keep  them  healthy  and  in  good  plight.  One-half  the 
expense  of  driving  may  be  saved  by  the  use  of  well-trained  shep- 
herd dogs.  When  arrived  at  their  destination,  they  should,  if 
possible,  be  thoroughly  washed,  to  free  them  from  all  dirt,  and 
19* 


442 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


closely  examined  as  to  any  diseases  they  may  have  contracted, 
which  if  discovered,  should  be  promptly  removed.  A  variety  of 
suitable  food  and  good  shelter  must  be  provided,  for  the  autumn, 
winter,  and  spring  ensuing,  and  every  necessary  attention  given 
them.  This  would  be  necessary  if  indigenous  to  the  country ; 
how  much  more  so,  when  they  have  just  undergone  a  campaign, 
to  which  neither  they  nor  their  race  have  been  accustomed. 

Sheep  cannot  be  kept  on  prairie  lands  without  much  care, 
artificial  food  and  proper  attention ;  and  in  a  false  system  of 
economy,  hitherto  attempted  by  many,  losses  have  occurred  from 
disease  and  mortahty  in  the  flocks  sufficient  to  have  made  ample 
provision  for  the  comfort  and  security  of  twice  the  number  saved. 
More  especially  do  they  require  proper  food  and  attention,  after 
the  first  severe  frosts  set  in,  which  wither  and  kill  the  natural 
grasses.  By  nibbling  at  the /o^,  (the  frost  bitten,  dead  grass,) 
they  are  inevitably  subject  to  constipation,  which  a  bountiful 
supply  of  roots,  sulphur,  etc.,  are  alone  sufficient  to  remove. 
Roots,  grain  and  good  hay,  straw  or  cornstalks,  pea  or  bean  vines, 
are  essential  to  the  preservation  of  their  health  and  thrift  during 
the  winter,  any  where  north  of  40°.  In  summer,  the  natural 
herbage  is  sufficient  to  sustain  them  in  fine  condition,  till  they 
shall  have  acquired  a  denser  population  of  animals,  when  it  will 
be  found  necessary  to  stock  their  meadows  with  the  best  varieties 
of  artificial  grasses. 

The  dry  and  roUing  prairies  seem  adapted  to  the  usual  varieties 
of  sheep  introduced  into  the  United  States;  and  of  such  are  the 
flocks  made  up,  according  to  the  taste  or  judgment  of  the  owners. 
Shepherd  dogs  are  invaluable  to  the  owners  of  flocks,  both  as 
preventives  against  the  small  prairie  wolf,  which  prowls  around 
the  flock,  but  which  are  rapidly  thinning  off  by  the  settlers;  and 
also  as  assistants  to  the  shepherds  in  driving  and  herding  their 
flocks  on  the  open  ground.  The  vast  stretch  of  prairie  and  open 
lands  now  opening  in  the  new  States  and  Territories  west  of  the 
Missouri  river,  will  probably,  in  time,  become  among  the  mOst 
profitable  sheep  ranges  of  the  United  States. 


SHEEP. 


443 


SHEPHERD  DOGS. 

Of  these  there  are  two  widely  distinct  breeds.  One  embraces 
the  large  Spanish  dog  and  their  descendants,  the  Mexican,  and 
some  other  varieties,  which  are  of  a  size,  strength  and  courage 
sufacient  to  defend  the  flock  against  wolves  or  other  formidable 
enemies.  They  are  frequently  inclined  to  be  ferocious,  and  will 
sometimes  commit  depredations  on  the  flocks  themselves.  They 
are  only  necessary  where  there  is  danger  from  wild  beasts  and 
prowHng  dogs,  against  which,  if  thoroughly  trained,  they  are 
always  an  efficient  protection.  The  smaller  kind  is  invaluable  for 
assisting  the  shepherd  in  bringing  in  his  sheep,  keeping  them 
within  any  required  compass,  driving  them  from  place  to  place, 
and  giving  signal  of  danger.  There  are  numerous  sub-varieties, 
of  different  sizes;  some  with  long  tails,  others  without  any;  some 
smooth-haired,  but  more  generally  shaggy  or  long-haired.  Each 
of  these  have  a  natural  instinct  for  the  management  of  sheep, 
and,  if  properly  educated,  will  seldom  fail  to  answer  every  rea- 
sonable wish  of  their  masters.  Unless  sheep  are  confined  in 
small  pastures,  and  are  so  familiar  and  manageable  as  to  come 
readily  at  call,  the  use  of  the  sheep  dog  will  save  much  of  the 
shepherd's  time.  He  has  the  intelhgence  of  a  man  in  compre- 
hending the  wants  of  the  shepherd,  and  is  vastly  more  efficient  in 
bringing  them  together,  or  driving  on  the  road  and  keeping  them 
separate  from  other  flocks.  Sheep  soon  get  accustomed  to  them, 
and,  without  being  alarmed  by  their  presence,  they  learn  to  regard 
them  as  guides,  whom  they  most  impHcitly  obey.  All  the  above 
varieties  have  been  imported,  and  the  smaller  ones  are  now 
extensively  bred  in  this  country. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


THE  HOKSE. 

In  nearly  all  ages  and  countries,  the  horse  has  been  the  devoted 
servant  and  the  object  of  the  pride  and  affection  of  man.  Among 
the  semi-civilized  Tartars  of  middle  and  northern  Asia,  the  abo- 
rigines of  our  remote  western  prairies,  reaching  even  beyond  the 
Bockj  mountains,  and  some  other  rude  nations,  his  flesh  is  used 
for  food.  Many  tribes  among  the  former  use  the  milk  for  domes- 
tic purposes,  and  especially  when  fermented  and  changed  to  an 
unpleasantly  sour  and  intoxicating  beverage.  But  throughout 
the  civilized  world,  with  some  shght  exceptions,  the  horse  is 
useful  only  for  his  labor.  For  this  purpose  he  is  pre-eminently 
fitted  by  his  compact,  closely  knit  frame ;  his  sinewy,  muscular 
hmbs ;  his  easy,  rapid  stride ;  his  general  form  and  entire  structure 
and  habits.  He  is  found  in  his  wild  condition  in  central  Asia, 
Siberia,  and  the  interior  of  Africa,  and  for  three  hundred  years 
he  has  been  turned  loose  to  follow  his  native  instincts  on  the 
inimitable  pampas  of  South  America  and  the  wide-spread  prairies 
of  Mexico  and  California.  In  all  these  regions  he  closely  resem- 
bles the  medium  varieties  of  the  domesticated  horse,  but,  as  the 
ng^tural  result  of  his  freedom,  he  possesses  more  fire  and  spirit 
than  any  other,  except  the  blood  horse. 

Arabig.  is  generally  claimed  as  the  original  native  locality  of 
the  horse,  and  as  the  orijy  source  from  which  he  is  to  be  derived 
in  the  requisite  perfection  for  the  highest  improvement  of  the 
race.  But  Strabo,  who  wrote  more  than  eighteen  hundred  years 
ago,  asserts  that  the  horse  did  not  then  flourish  in  Arabia,  and  it 
was  not  till  some  centqries  later  that  he  attained  any  decided 


THE  IIOESE. 


445 


superiority  there.  Gfreat  attention,  however,  has  been  paid  in 
that  country,  since  the  era  of  Mahomet,  to  the  possession  of  a 
hght,  agile  and  enduring  frame,  intelh'gence  and  tractabihty  of 
character,  and  the  perpetuation  of  these  qualities,  by  the  most 
scrupulous  regard  for  the  purity  of  blood.  This  is  equally  true 
of  the  Barb,  or  pure-bred  horse  of  Morocco,  and  those  of  the 
northern  coast  of  Africa,  in  Egypt,  among  the  Turks,  and  indeed 
wherever  the  followers  of  the  Prophet  are  to  be  found.  It  is 
unquestionable  that  the  influence  of  the  Eastern  blood  among  the 
choicest  animals  of  modern  Europe  has  been  followed  by  great 
improvements  in  racing  stock.  Yet  it  is  equally  certain  that  the 
race  horse,  both  of  England  and  the  United  States,  has  accom- 
plished what  has  never  been  demonstrated  as  within  the  ability 
of  their  progenitors;  and  on  repeated  trials  with  the  Eastern 
horses,  he  has  shown  himself  confessedly  their  superior  in  speed, 
strength  and  endurance. 

The  experience  of  Eastern  blood  in  this  country,  in  compari- 
son with  the  best  Enghsh,  is  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  latter. 
We  have  had  one  horse  of  unsurpassed  excellence,  which  a 
fortunate  accident  threw  upon  our  shores  a  short  time  previous 
to  1770.  This  was  the  white  Barb,  Ranger^  which  was  presented 
by  the  Emperor  of  Morocco,  as  the_  choice  of  his  stud,  to  an 
English  naval  officer,  for  some  distinguished  service.  On  his 
route  homeward,  the  animal  was  set  on  shore  for  exercise  at  an 
intermediate  port,  where,  in  his  gambols,  he  broke  three  of  his 
legs,  and,  thinking  him  worthless,  his  owner  gave  him  to  the 
commander  of  a  New  England  merchantman,  then  present.  He 
was  readily  accepted,  and  placed  in  shngs  on  board  of  his  vessel, 
and  recovered.  This  animal  stood  for  many  years  in  the  eastern 
part  of  Connecticut,  and  on  their  good  mares  produced  a  numer- 
ous progeny  of  unrivalled  cavalry  horses,  which  rendered  inval- 
uable service  in  the  troop  commanded  by  that  consummate 
partisan.  Captain  (afterwards  General)  Lee,  of  the  revolution.  It 
is  said  the  favorite  w^hite  field-horse  of  General  Washington  was 
of  the  same  stock.    He  was  afterwards  sold  to  Captain  Lindsey, 


446 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


as  a  special  favor,  and  taken  to  Virginia,  where  lie  produced 
some  good  racers.  Bussorah,  a  small  sorrel  horse,  brought  into 
this  country  from  the  head  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  in  1819,  then  five 
years  old,  got  many  choice  roadsters,  though  few  if  any  racers. 
The  Narraganset  pacers,  a  race  belonging  to  our  Eastern  States, 
but  for  many  years  almost  extinct,  possessed  for  a  long  time  an 
unrivalled  reputation  for  spirit,  endurance,  and  easy,  rapid  motion 
under  the  saddle;  and  they  are  said  to  have  originated  from  a 
Spanish  horse,  many  of  which  are  pure  descendants  of  the  Barb. 
As  an  offset  to  these  isolated  examples  of  success  in  this  country, 
we  have  numerous  instances  of  the  importation  of  the  best 
Orientals,  which  have  been  extensively  used  on  some  of  our 
superior  mares,  without  any  marked  effect.  We  shall  refer  to 
three  prominent  importations  only.  The  first  consisted  of  two 
choice  Arabians,  or  Barbs,  selected  in  Tunis  by  General  Eaton, 
and  sent  to  his  estate  in  Massachusetts.  The  second  was  a  present 
of  four  choice  Barbs  from  the  Emperor  of  Morocco  to  our  gov- 
ernment, in  1830 ;  and  the  third  consisted  of  two  Arabians,  sent  by 
the  Imaum  of  Muscat,  near  the  Persian  Gulf,  to  our  government, 
in  1839  or  '40.  These  were  all  claimed  to  be,  and  no  doubt 
were,  of  the  pure  Kochlani,  the  unadulterated  line  royal;  yet 
none  have  earned  any  distinguished  reputation.  Some  years  ago, 
about  1857  or  '8,  two  choice  Arabian  horses  were  sent  from 
Africa,  a  present  to  Gov.  Seward,  of  New  York.  They  were 
bred  to  many  mares  in  different  parts  of  that  State,  during  four 
or  five  successive  years,  and  some  good  colts  got  by  them,  but 
they  failed  to  get  anything  of  distinguished  value — not  at  all 
equal  to  many  of  the  American-bred  horses. 

It  is  to  England  we  are  mainly  indebted  for  the  great  improve- 
ment in  our  blood,  road  and  farm  horses.  A  numerous  race  of 
fine  horses  were  reared  on  that  Island,  long  previous  to  any 
authentic  history  of  it ;  for  in  his  first  invasion,  Julius  Caesar  took 
many  of  them  to  Rome,  where  they  immediately  became  great 
favorites,  although  this  mistress  of  half  the  known  world  had 
already  plundered  every  region  of  some  of  their  best  breeds. 


THE  HORSE. 


447 


What  might  have  been  the  particular  merit  of  the  English  horse 
at  the  time  of  the  Norman  invasion,  is  not  known,  but  it  is  cer- 
tain that  the  Saxon  cavalry  under  Harold,  were  speedily  over- 
powered by  William,  at  the  battle  of  Hastings,  which  at  once 
secured  the  throne  to  the  Conqueror.  History  first  informs  us  of 
the  improvement  of  British  horses,  by  importations  from  abroad 
during  this  reign,  which  consisted  of  a  number  of  Spanish  stal- 
lions. These  were  supposed  to  be  strongly  imbued  with  the  Ara- 
bian or  African  blood,  which  had  been  brought  over  to  that  coun- 
try by  the  Moors,  who  had  founded  the  Saracenic  empire  in  the 
Peninsula,  three  centuries  before.  More  than  a  century  later, 
King  John  made  some  importations  from  Flanders,  to  give 
weight  and  substance  to  their  draught  and  cavalry  horses.  The 
improvement  of  their  various .  breeds,  was  afterwards  pursued 
with  more  or  less  judgment  and  zeal,  by  other  British  mon- 
archs,  till  they  reached  their  highest  excellence  during  the  mid- 
dle of  the  last  century.  Flying  Childers,  Eclipse,  Highflyer,  and 
others  on  the  course,  have  probably  exceeded  in  speed  anything 
ever  before  accomplished ;  while  the  draught  horse,  the  roadster, 
the  hackney,  the  cavalry  horse  and  the  hunter,  attained  a  merit 
at  that  time,  which  some  good  authorities  claim,  has  not  been 
since  increased.  It  is  even  asserted,  that  some  of  the  more  serv- 
iceable breeds  have  been  seriously  injured  by  too  great  an  infu- 
sion of  the  blood;  while  the  almost  universal  absence  of  long 
heats  on  the  turf,  has  tended  to  the  improvement  of  speed  rather 
than  bottom  in  the  race  horse. 

The  improvement  of  the  horse  in  this  country,  has  not  been  a 
matter  of  record  or  history,  till  within  a  comparatively  recent 
period.  But  it  has  silently,  and  with  no  little  rapidity  been 
going  forward,  for  more  than  a  century,  till  we  have  attained  a 
race  of  animals,  throughout  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States  at  least, 
which  probably  equal  those  of  any  other  country  for  adaptedness 
to  draught,  the  road  and  the  saddle.  This  improvement  has  been 
mainly  brought  about^  by  the  importation  of  some  of  the  test  and 
stoutest  of  the  English  hlood.    In  breeding  from  these  for  pur- 


448 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


poses  of  utility,  particular  reference  has  been  paid  to  strength, 
endurance  and  speed.  No  horses  surpass  our  best  four  naile 
pacers ;  none  equal  our  trotters.  The  world  has  not  seen  their 
equal.  It  was  not  many  years  ago  that  a  mile  in  three  minutes 
was  thought  a  prodigious  speed  for  a  horse;  but  in  the  year  1867, 
Dexter  trotted  his  mile  in  two  minutes  seventeen  seconds,  and  it 
is  contended  that  he  can  even  do  better  than  that  surprising  feat. 
Though  much  inequality  exists  in  those  bred  for  our  various  other 
uses,  yet  for  profitable  service,  it  is  believed,  no  equal  number  of 
animals  elsewhere,  can  excel  those  in  the  region  above  indicated. 
It  would  be  a  superfluous  task  to  attempt  enumerating  all  tlie 
imported  horses  that  have  contributed  to  this  improvement. 
Each  good  animal  has  done  something.  But  among  the  earlier 
horses  which  may  be  named  with  distinction,  as  having  effected 
much  for  our  useful  beasts,  are  Lath,  Wildair,  Slender,  Sour- 
krout,  Tally-ho,  Figure,  Bay  Richmond,  Expedition,  Baronet, 
and  a  host  of  others.  Pre-eminent  among  these,  w^as  imported 
Messenger.  He  was  foaled  in  1780,  imported  in  1788,  and  died 
in  1808.  He  stood  in  different  places  in  New  Jersey;  and  in 
Duchess,  Westchester  and  Queens  counties  in  New  York;  and 
upon  the  mares  derived  from  the  foregoing  and  other  good  horses, 
he  got  a  numerous  progeny  of  illustrious  descendants.  Of  these, 
we  may  name  those  capital  stallions,  Potomac,  Hamiltonian,  Bay 
Figure,  Engineer,  Mambrino,  Tippoo  Saib,  Columbus,  Gunn's, 
and  Bushe's  Messenger,  and  many  others,  which  were  exten- 
sively disseminated  over  the  Northern  and  Middle  States ;  and  he 
has  the  credit  of  imparting  a  large  share  of  his  merits  to  his 
grandson,  that  nonpareil  of  horses,  American  Eclipse,  and  through 
Eclipse  to  his  later  posterity  of  the  present  day.  His  descend- 
ants were  so  numerous  and  widely  spread,  that  it  may  be  safely 
asserted,  that  of  the  best  horses  bred  in  the  above  States,  scarcely 
one  can  now  be  found  which  does  not  trace  one  or  more  crosses 
to  his  distinguished  sire.  His  success  in  producing  roadsters, 
besides  his  blood  qualities  of  speed  and  endurance,  consisted  in 
his  great  strength  and  the  peculiar  formation  of  his  limbs,  large 


THE  HORSE. 


449 


forehand  and  deep  quarters,  in  which  he  excelled  any  other  of  the 
imported  bloods.  Later  horses,  as  Lexington,  Kentucky,  (reared 
in  Kentucky,)  and  others  of  recent  years,  have  kept  the  high  repu- 
tation of  their  sires.  The  United  States  has  now,  probably,  as 
good  blood  horses  as  the  world  can  show. 

As  an  illustration  of  what  may  be  accomplished  by  judicious 
breeding  with  the  present  materials  in  our  hands,  we  mention  one 
family  of  the  American  roadster,  which  is  strongly  tinctured  with 
blood,  and  which  has  attained  an  enviable  notoriety  among  the 
choicest  of  the  Northern  horses.  They  are  derived  from  the 
Morgan  horse  of  Vermont,  that  was  foaled  in  Springfield,  Mass., 
in  1793.  He  was  got  by  True  Briton,  (supposed  to  have  been 
bred  by  Gen.  Delancey  of  New  York,  and  got  by  imported 
Wildair,)  or  one  of  his  sons,  a  horse  of  such  distinguished  excel- 
lence, as  to  have  been  re-exported  to  England  for  the  benefit  of 
his  stock.  The  Morgan  horse  stood  in  Vermont  from  1795  till 
his  death,  at  an  advanced  age.  From  him  and  the  choice  mares 
of  Vermont,  descended  many  excellent  colts ;  and  his  merits  were 
inherited  in  an  eminent  degree  by  three  of  his  sons,  which  stood 
in  the  same  state  and  continued  the  career  of  improvement  com- 
menced by  the  sire.  The  result  was  the  production  of  a  family 
of  roadsters,  of  much  similarity  of  appearance*  and  uniformity 
of  character,  unsurpassed  by  any  others  of  their  size  for  service- 
able qualities.  They  were  of  medium  size,  from  thirteen  and  a 
half  to  fifteen  hands  high;  with  a  well-formed  head  and  neck; 
.high  withers;  deep  chest;  round  body;  short  back;  long  quar 
ters;  broad  flat  legs;  moderately  small  feet;  long  wavy  mane 
and  tail ;  presenting  altogether  the  beau  ideal  of  the  road  horse. 
They  are  spirited,  docile,  hardy,  and  easily  kept.  They  have  an 
easy,  rapid  trot,  and  glide  along  with  a  good  load,  without  clat 
ter  or  apparent  effort,  at  the  rate  of  ten  or  twelve  miles  an  hour. 
This  family  of  horses — for  they  are  not  a  Ireed^  being  chiefly  of 

*M any  of  the  Morgan  horses  have  shown  the  steep  rump  and  heavy  breast  and 
neck,  which  indicates  a  Norman  cross  on  the  side  of  their  dams,  which  has  been 
largely  imported  through  the  French  horse  in  the  adjoining  Canadian  settlements  ; 
but  none  of  these  points  are  said  to  have  characterised  the  founder  of  the  race. 


450 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


local  rearing  in  the  hilly  regions  of  northern  New  England — • 
gained  considerable  celebrity  for  a  time ;  yet  they  ceased  to  be 
"Morgans"  when  taken  to  the  milder  climates  and  richer  soils 
west  and  south  of  Vermont,  as  they  gained  larger  size  on  the 
heavier  pastures  and  more  stimulating  food  of  the  richer  lands. 
With  all  their  fine  qualities  of  look  and  action,  they  proved  too 
small  for  the  main  purposes  demanded  of  a  thorough-going 
business  horse,  and  have  measurably  gone  out  of  fashion.  They 
are  mentioned,  merely  as  a  type  of  what  the  serviceable  roadster 
ought  to  be,  and  what  he  may  become  by  the  use  of  the  proper 
instrument  for  breeding.  And  if  the  materials  already  in  our 
hands  are  intelligently  and  perseveringly  used,  we  can  produce 
all  we  require  of  horseflesh. 

Besides  our  unsurpassed  blood  horses,  we  have  others  derived 
from  various  sources,  and  especially  from  the  different  English 
breeds,  all  of  which  are  variously  compounded,  with  the  first  and 
with  each  other.  On  our  north-eastern  frontier,  the  Canadian 
prevails,  a  bastard  but  not  degenerate  race,  made  up  of  the 
French  Norman  and  the  English  or  American.  At  the  extreme 
south  and  west,  we  have  the  horse  of  Spanish  origin,  obtained  in 
his  domestic  state  in  Florida  and  Louisiana ;  and  from  another 
branch  of  the  Spanish,  are  descended  the  wild  horses  of  Mexico 
and  the  more  northern  prairies.  These  are  diversified  in  character, 
and  generally  possess  medium  size  and  merit.  The  Conestoga,  s. 
heavy  roadster,  and  draught  horse  of  fine  symmetry,  and  great 
power,  is  principally  reared  in  Pennsylvania,  and  is  used  for  the 
team  and  truck.  He  is  an  amalgamation  of  several  breeds,  but 
probably  owes  a  share  of  his  character  to  the  Flemish  horse,  for 
which  there  was  a  decided  partiality  among  the  numerous  Ger- 
man emigrants  of  that  State.  Several  varieties  of  ponies  are  to 
be  found  in  different  sections,  but  principally  among  the  French, 
the  half-breed,  and  the  Indians  upon  the  frontiers,  who  have  bred 
a  stunted  race  from  the  Canadian  or  wild  horse,  and  such  others 
as  could  survive  the  hard  usage  and  scanty  winter  food,  afforded 
by  nature  and  their  rude  husbandry.    Many  of  these  have  con- 


THE  HORSE. 


451 


siderable  beauty  and  symmetry,  and  are  fleet,  hardy  and  spirited. 
The  modern  Norman^  or  mixture  of  the  old  French  Norman 
draught  horse,  (heavy  framed,  big  limbed,  but  stout  and  hardy,) 
and  the  Andalusian,  a  descendant  of  the  Moorish  Barbs,  has 
been  introduced  within  a  few  years,  and  will  unquestionably 
become  approved  as  a  useful  and  serviceable  animal  for  many 
purposes.  He  exhibits  the  qualities  of  both  ancestry  in  the 
proper  proportions  for  farm  service.  He  has  a  thick  head ;  lively, 
prick  ears ;  short,  heavy  neck ;  large  breast  and  shoulder ;  strong 
limbs ;  well  knit  back ;  large  quarters,  with  much  wavy  mane,  tail 
and  fetlock.  Like  his  French  progenitor,  he  frequently  stands 
low  in  the  withers,  which  enables  him  to  throw  great  weight  into 
the  collar ;  and  the  diminished,  flattened  leg,  the  wind  and  game 
derived  from  his  Moorish  blood,  give  him  much  of  the  capacity 
and  endurance  of  the  •thorough-bred.  The  Percheron^  another 
variety  of  the  French  draught  horse,  has  also  been  lately  im- 
ported, and  may  prove  valuable  in  imparting  additional  good 
qualities  to  our  heavier  style  of  horses.  The  English  cart  horse, 
of  which  the  Suffolk  Punch  is  the  finest  specimen  we  have  seen, 
and  the  Clydesdale,  from  Scotland,  brought  into  Upper  Canada, 
have  made  up  some  of  the  best  heavy  dray  horses  in  the  coun- 
try, and  late  importations  have  refreshed  the  breed  with  additional 
choice  specimens.  The  Cleveland  hay,  a  large  and  heavy  coach 
horse,  has  been  introduced  of  late,  but  not  bred  to  any  extent 
of  superior  excellence.  The  Norfolk  trotter,  Belfounder,  was 
imported  many  years  ago,  and  with  our  high-bred  mares,  he 
produced  many  choice  roadsters  and  trotters. 

The  remainder  of  our  horse-flesh  deserving  of  any  notice  is 
chiefly  composed  of  such  as  are  superior  in  point  of  blood  and 
merit.  The  improvement  in  the  American  horse  is  conspicuous 
and  decided.  Judicious  breeders  have  obtained  qualities  in  the 
descendants  which  they  sought  for  in  their  imported  sires,  and  the 
infusion  of  some  of  the  stoutest  of  the  blood  is  rapidly  gaining 
an  ascendancy  in  the  general  stock;  and  we  are  confident  our 
intelhgent  agriculturists  will  not  permit  this  to  proceed  to  an 


452 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


exterlt  that  may  be  prejudicial  to  their  value  as  draught  horses, 
as  has  been  done  in  some  portions  of  England  and  our  Southern 
States.  There  is  no  danger  from  excess  of  blood,  if  it  be  of  the 
right  kind;  but  it  is  seldom  found  combining  that  fullness  and 
stoutness,  and  that  docility  and  tractableness  of  disposition  which 
are  essential  to  the  gig  horse  or  the  horse  of  all  work.  Youatt 
says  truly,  that  "the  road  horse  may  possess  different  degrees  of 
blood,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  country  and  the  work 
required  of  him ;  (he  might  have  added  with  propriety,  and 
according  to  the  character  of  the  Mood.)  His  legs  will  be  too 
slender ;  his  feet  too  small ;  his  stride  too  long,  and  he  will  rarely 
be  able  to  trot.  Three  parts  or  half,  (of  the  thorough-bred,) 
and  for  the  horse  of  all  work,  even  less  than  that  will  make  a 
good  and  useful  animal."  For  the  saddle  only,  the  high-bred 
is  never  objectionable  to  an  enterprising  alid  accomplished'  rider, 
if  not  disposed  to  be  vicious.  His  long,  elastic  pasterns  give 
easy,  flexible  motions ;  his  quick  and  almost  electrical  obedience 
when  under  thorough  discipline;  his  habitual  canter  and  high 
spirit  always  commend  him  for  this  purpose. 

Some  of  the  prominent  external  points  of  a  fine  saddle  or  huggy 
horse  are,  a  moderately  small  head,  free  from  fleshiness ;  fine 
muzzle  and  expansive  nostrils;  broad  at  the  throat  and  wide  be- 
tween the  eyes,  which  denotes  intelligence  and  courage ;  a  dished 
face  indicates  high  breeding,  and  sometimes  viciousness ;  a  convex 
or  Roman  nose  frequently  betokens  the  reverse;  the  ears  rather 
long,  yet  so  finely  formed  as  to  appear  small,  and  playing  quickly 
like  those  of  a  deer;  and  the  eyes  clear,  full  and  confident,  with 
a  steady  forward  look.  Glancing  them  backward  or  askance  with 
a  sinister  expression,  and  with  none  or  only  a  slight  movement  of 
the  head,  is  indicative  of  a  mischievous  temper.  The  neck  should 
be  handsomely  arched,  and  fine  at  the  junction  with  the  head, 
while  the  lower  extremity  must  be  full  and  muscular,  and  well 
expanded  at  the  breast  and  shoulders.  The  latter  ought  to  be 
high  and  run  well  back;  the  withers  strong,  firmly  knit  and 
smooth ;  the  breast  even  in  front,  of  medium  width,  and  supported 


THE  HORSE. 


453 


hy  a  pair  of  straight  fore-legs,  standing  well  apart.  The  chest 
should  be  deep  and  the  girth  large;  the  body  full,  and  not  drawn 
up  too  much  in  the  flank;  the  back  short,  and  the  hips  gathered 
well  towards  the  withers;  the  loins  wide  and  rising  above  the 
spine ;  the  ribs  springing  nearly  at  right  angles  from  the  back, 
giving  roundness  to  the  body.  The  hips  ought  to  be  long  to  the 
root  of  the  tail,  and  the  latter  may  approach  to  near  the  line  of 
the  back,  which  is  a  mark  of  good  breeding.  Both  the  thigh 
and  hock  should  be  large  and  muscular;  and  between  the  hock, 
or  knee,  and  pastern,  the  legs. should  be  broad,  flat  and  short;  the 
hind  legs  properly  bent,  and  all  well  placed  under  the  body;  the 
pasterns  of  moderate  length,  and  standing  shghtly  obhque;  the 
hoof  hard,  smooth,  round  before,  and  wide  at  the  heel;  the  frog 
large  and  sound;  and  the  sole  firm  and  concave.  A  white  hoof 
is  generally  tender,  easy  to  fracture  and  to  lame,  and  difficult  to 
hold  a  shoe. 

The  draught  horse  ought  to  differ  from  the  foregoing,  in  show- 
ing greater  compactness,  a  heavier  and  shorter  neck,  a  wider  and 
stouter  breast,  and  lower  withers,  so  as  to  throw  the  utmost 
weight  into  the  collar;  a  heavier  body  and  quarters,  larger  legs 
and  feet,  and  more  upright  shoulders  and  pasterns ;  yet  he  should 
be- full  and  round  in  the  body,  and  carry  a  face  of  docility  and 
intelligent  exjDression. 

Considerations  which  affect  the  Value  of  the  Horse. — The 
color  is  not  material,  provided  it  be  not  pied  or  mealy.  No  better 
color  for  horses  can  be  found  than  the  dark  bay^  or  brown,  with 
black  mane,  tail  and  legs.  Chestnut  is  also  an  admirable  color. 
But  most  of  the  other  colors  are  frequently  found  with  the  best 
horses.  Hard-mouthed  horses,  when  accompanied  with  great 
spirits,  are  objectionable,  as  they  require  pecuhar  bitting  and  the 
utmost  vigilance.  The  paces  and  action  of  a  horse  are  important, 
for  if  good,  they  give  a  much  greater  capacity  for  performance. 
Some  of  these  depend  on  form  and  structure,  and  are  unchange- 
able; others  are  the  result  of  breaking.  All  horses  should  be 
taught  to  walk  fast,  as  it  is  their  easiest  and  most  economical 


454 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


pace,  and  it  will  help  them  over  a  great  deal  of  ground  in  a  day, 
even  with  a  heavy  load,  and  with  comparatively  little  effort.  A 
horse  that  steps  short  and  digs  his  toes  into  the  ground,  is  worth- 
less as  a  traveler,  and  suited  only  to  a  ferry  boat  or  bark  mill. 
It  is  important  that  a  horse  be  good  tempered.  If  inchned  to 
viciousness,  he  should  be  gently  yet  firmly  managed  when  it  is 
first  apparent.  A  resort  to  great  severity  will  be  justified,  if 
necessary  to  conquer  him;  for  if  once  allowed  to  become  a  habit, 
it  will  be  difficult  to  cure  him.  Grooms  and  mischievous  stable 
boys  frequently  do  much  injury  by  their  idle  tricks  with  horses, 
and  when  detected,  they  should  be  discharged  at  once.  Some 
horses  are  nervous,  easily  excited,  and  start  at  every  unusual 
noise  or  object.  Others  are  restive  and  fretful,  and  ever  anxious 
to  be  on  the  move.  Kindness,  and  firm.,  yet  mild  treatment,  by 
which  their  motions  and  will  are  at  all  times  controlled,  and  their 
confidence  secured,  are  the  only  remedies.  Others  are  inclined  to 
sluggishness.  These  should  have  stimulating  food,  and  never  be 
overloaded  or  overworked,  and  then  kept  well  to  their  paces. 
Whatever  they  are  capable  of  performing,  can  in  this  way  onlv 
be  got  from  them.  Habit  has  great  influence  with  animals,  as 
with  man ;  and  when  within  the  compass  of  his  ability,  he  may 
be  habituated  to  any  reasonable  physical  exertion.  More  horses 
are  ruined  by  unskillful  breaking  and  overwork  when  under  six 
years  old,  than  in  any  other  way.  A  horse  ought  never  to  be 
put  to  full  work  before  seven  years  old. 

Breeding. — Agreeably  to  the  general  principles  before  enu- 
merated, such  animals  should  be  selected  as  most  eminently 
possess  those  points  which  it  is  desired  to  propagate,  and  these 
they  should  not  only  exhibit  in  themselves,  but  should  inherit  as 
far  as  possible  from  a  long  line  of  ancestry.  For  the  perpetua- 
tion of  particular  points  in  progeny,  it  would  be  safer  to  rely  on 
the  latter  quahty  than  the  former.  The  selection  of  a  mare,  rela- 
tively larger  than  the  horse,  is  an  important  rule  in  breeding,  and 
it  is  beheved  that  much  of  the  success  of  Arabian  and  other 
Eastern  horses  as  stock-getters,  has  resulted  from  the  application 


THE  HORSE. 


455 


of  this  principle.  Thej  possess  valuable  traits,  but  condensed 
within  too  small  a  compass.  When  such  an  animal  is  put  to  a 
well-bred,  larger  mare,  the  foetus  has  abundance  of  room  and 
nourishment  to  develop  and  perfect  the  circumscribed  outlines  of 
the  male  parent,  and  acquire  for  itself  increased  volume  and  char- 
acter. The  horse  ought  not  to  be  less  than  four  or  five,  and  the 
mare  one  year  older  before  being  put  to  breeding.  It  would  be 
still  better  to  defer  it  for  two  or  three  years,  or  till  the  frame  is 
fully  matured.  A  mare  intended  for  breeding  should  never  be 
highly  fed  on  grain,  nor  overworked ;  or  if  they  have  been  so,  a 
previous  run  of  some  months  on  grass,  or  hay  without  grain, 
should  be  allowed  to  put  them  into  natural  condition. 

The  gestation  of  the  mare  sometimes  varies  from  forty-four  to 
fifty-six  weeks,  but  she  usually  goes  with  young  from  forty-seven 
to  fifty ;  and  it  is  advisable  she  should  take  the  horse  at  a  time 
^which  will  ensure  the  foaling  when  the  weather  is  settled,  and 
there  is  a  fresh  growth  of  grass.  She  will  be  the  better  for  hght 
working  till  near  the  time  of  foaling,  if  well,  but  not  too  abund- 
antly fed.  In  a  few  days  after  this,  she  may  resume  moderate 
labor;  and  if  not  in  the  way  or  troublesome,  the  foal  may  run  with 
her;  but  if  she  is  exposed  to  heating,  it  should  be  confined  till 
she  cools,  as  suckling  then  is  decidedly  injurious  to  it.  The  mare 
is  in  danger  of  slinking  her  foal  from  blows  and  over  exertion, 
the  use  of  smutty  grain,  foul  hay,  or  offensive  objects  of  smell; 
and  when  this  has  once  occurred,  which  happens  usually  in  the 
fourth  or  fifth  month,  she  should  afterwards  be  generously  fed  at 
that  period,  and  only  moderately  worked.  When  liable  to  slink- 
ing, the  mare  should  be  removed  from  others  in  foal,  lest  a  pecul- 
iar sympathy  should  excite  an  epidemic.  The  mare  comes  in  heat 
from  nine  to  eleven  days  after  foaling,  when  she  should  be  put  to 
the  horse,  if  it  be  desirable  to  have  a  colt  the  following  season. 
She  comes  round  at  intervals  of  about  nine  days  each. 

Management  of  the  (7oZ^.— The  colt  may  be  weaned  when  five 
to  seven  months  old,  and  preparatory  to  this,  while  with  the 
mare,  may  be  taught  to  feed  on  fine  hay,  meal  or  oats.  When 


456 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


taken  away,  lie  should  be  confined  beyond  a  hearing  distance  of 
the  dam,  and  plentifully  supplied  with  rowen  or  aftermath  hay, 
mashed  or  ground  oats,  or  wheat  shorts.  It  is  economy  to  pro- 
vide a  warm  shelter  through  the  inclement  season  for  all  animals, 
and  especially  for  colts,  which  with  .all  other  young,  should  have 
an  abundance  of  nutritious  food.  They  will  thus  grow  evenly 
and  rapidly,  and  attain  a  size  and  stamina  at  two  years  old,  they 
would  not  otherwise  have  acquired  at  three.  Every  colt  should 
be  thoroughly  halter  broken  during  the  winter  before  a  year  old. 
He  will  be  all  the  easier  managed  afterwards. 

Castrating. — The  colt  should  be  altered  at  about  one  or  one 
and  a  half  years  old,  but  if  thin  in  the  neck  and  light  before,  the 
operation  may  be  deferred  to  a  year  later.  Few  of  the  French 
diligence  and  farm  horses,  and  scarcely  any  of  the  Oriental,  are 
ever  castrated.  They  are  thought  to  be  more  hardy  and  endur- 
ing ;  but  the  slight  advantage  they  may  possibly  possess  in  thi^ 
respect,  would  illy  compensate  for  the  trouble  and  inconvenience 
arising  from  their  management.  The  operation  should  be  per- 
formed late  in  the  spring  or  early  in  autumn,  while  the  weather 
is  mild.  If  in  high  condition,  the  animal  should  be  well  physicked. 
The  easiest,  safest  and  most  convenient  way  is  to  cast  him  by 
ropes  on  his  legs.  The  scrotum  should  be  opened  on  both  sides 
and  the  testicles  cut,  or  rather  the  cord  scraped  off,  and  tied, 
which  prevents  much  bleeding.  The  wound  may  be  dressed  with 
a  little  lard ;  then  turn  him  loose  in  a  pasture  which  has  a  shelter 
from  sun,  wind  or  rain.  Docking  is  practiced  by  many,  but 
merely  to  gratify  an  absurd  and  cruel  caprice,  without  a  single 
advantage,  and  the  animal  is  better  in  every  respect  with  the  tail 
unmutilated.  Nicking  is  an  inhuman  custom,  and  now  unfash- 
ionable. We  omit  any  description  of  it.  It  has  been  in  and  out 
of  fashion  for  several  years  together  since  our  recollection. 

Breaking. — While  feeding  in  the  stable,  the  colt  should  be 
gently  treated,  and  accustomed  to  the  halter  and  bit,  which  pre- 
pares him  for  breaking.  If  permitted  to  run  with  the  others 
while  at  work,  he  becomes  famiharized  to  it,  and  w^hen  harnessed 


THE  HORSE. 


457 


by  the  side  of  some  of  his  well  trained  mates,  he  considers  his 
disciphne  rather  a  privilege  than  a  task.  The  colt  may  be  taken 
in  hand  for  breaking  at  three,  and  thoroughly  broken  to  light 
work  at  four,  but  should  not  be  put  to  hard  service  till  six  or 
seven.  A  due  regard  to  humanity  and  sound  judgment,  in  thus 
limiting  the  burthen  in  his  early  years,  will  save  much  disease 
and  sufifering  to  the  animal,  and  profit  the  owner  by  his  unim- 
paired strength  and  prolonged  life.  The  annual  loss  from  neglect- 
ing this  precaution  is  enormous,  which  might  be  entirely  avoided, 
by  less  eagerness  to  grasp  the  substance,  while  as  yet  the  shadow 
only  is  within  reach.  Many  animals  are  thus  broken  down  at 
twelve,  and  are  in  their  dotage  at  fifteen,  while  others  of  good 
constitution,  if  well  treated,  perform  hard  service  till  thirty. 

Longevity  of  the  Horse. — Mr.  Percival  mentions  one  that  died 
at  sixty-two.  Mr.  Mauran,  of  New  York,  had  a  fine  gig  and 
saddle  horse,  which  was,  in  his  forty-fifth  year,  sound,  spirited  and 
playful  as  a  kitten.  He  was  of  a  dark  brown  with  a  tanned  nose. 
"We  never  saw  a  horse  with  a  buff  or  bear  muzzle,  that  had  not 
great  endurance.  American  Eclipse  successfully  covered  mares 
in  Kentucky  at  the  age  of  thirty-one,  the  result  of  late  and  fight 
service  till  his  sinews  became  fully  matured.  "We  knew  a  large, 
compact,  flea-bitten  horse,  thirty  years  old,  at  work,  dragging  a 
heavy  load  in  a  single  cart,  which  was  formerly  used  as  a  coach 
horse,  and  apparently  sound  and  vigorous.  The  writer  worked 
a  noble  family  carriage  horse,  of  his  own  breeding,  from  five  until 
twenty-eight  years  old ;  and  a  better,  truer,  honester,  more  spir- 
ited, docile,  intelHgent  animal,  never  looked  through  a  bridle. 
His  death  bereft  us  of  an  old  and  dear  friend. 

Feeding. — The  vigor  and  duration  of  the  horse  depend  much 
on  proper  feeding.  Like  the  cow  and  sheep,  his  natural  and 
proper  aliment  is  the  grasses,  grain  and  roots.  In  the  middle  and 
northern  sections  of  the  country,  his  dry  forage  is  almost  invari 
ably  good  meadow  hay,  generally  timothy,  which  is  the  richest 
of  the  cultivated  grasses.  At  the  South,  this  is  often  supplied 
by  the  blades  of  Indian  corn.     But  in  all  the  States,  a  great 


458 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


variety  of  the  grasses  and  clover  are  used.  When  put  to  hard 
labor,  grain  ought  always  to  accompany  hay  in  some  form.  Of 
the  different  kinds  of  grain,  oats  are  peculiarly  the  horse's  food, 
and  they  are  always  safe,  digestible  and  nutritive.  Barley  is  the 
best  substitute  for  it.  Wheat  and  Indian  corn  are  sometimes 
given,  but  either,  alone,  are  unsuitable;  the  first  is  too  concen- 
trated, and  the  last  too  heating.  They  ought  to  be  sparingly 
used,  and  only  when  ground.  The  offal  of  wheat,  as  shorts,  or 
bran,  is  excellent,  particularly  when  mixed  with  about  one-third 
Indian  corn  meal.  Grain  is  always  more  advantageously  fed 
when  ground  or  crushed,  and  wet  some  time  previous  to  eating ; 
and  it  is  still  better  when  cooked.  On  both  sides  of  the  Medi- 
terranean, in  the  Barbary  States,  in  Spain,  France  and  Italy, 
much  of  the  food  is  given  in  small  baked  cakes,  and  the  saving 
in  this  way  is  much  greater  than  the  expense  of  preparing  it. 
When  confined  to  dry  food,  roots  or  apples  fed  once  a  day,  are 
always  beneficial.  They  keep  the  bowels  open,  the  appetite  and 
general  health  good,  and  contribute  largely  to  the  nutriment  of 
the  animal.  Carrots  are  the  best  of  the  roots,  as  besides  giving 
muscle  and  working  power,  they  more  than  any  other,  improve 
the  wind  and  remove  all  tendency  to  heaves.  They  have  even 
been  found  effectual  in  curing  an  obstinate  cough.  By  many  of 
the  keepers  of  livery  stables,  they  are  always  used,  for  which 
purpose  they  command  the  same  price  as  oats.  Potatoes,  pars- 
nips, beets  and  Swedes  turnips,  in  the  order  mentioned,  are  next 
to  be  preferred.  Potatoes  are  improved  by  cooking.  Mixtures 
of  food  are  best,  as  of  cut  hay,  meal  and  roots.  Old  horses,  or 
such  as  are  put  to  hard  labor,  will  do  much  better  if  their  food 
be  given  in  the  form  easiest  of  digestion.  No  inconsiderable 
part  of  the  vital  power  is  exhausted  by  the  digestion  of  dry,  raw 
food.  Horses  ought  to  be  fed,  and  if  possible,  exercised  or 
worked  regularly,  but  never  on  a  full  stomach.  This  is  a  fre- 
quent cause  of  disease,  and  especially  of  broken  wind.  If 
their  food  is  given  at  the  proper  time,  and  the  horse  be  allowed 
to  finish  it  at  once,  without  expecting  more,  he  will  lie  down 


THE  HOESE. 


459 


quietly  and  digest  it.  This  will  be  much  more  refreshing  to  him, 
than  to  stand  at  the  rack  or  trough,  nibbling  continually  at .  his 
hay  or  oats.  "What  remains  after  he  has  done  feeding,  should  be 
at  once  withdrawn.  They  should  have  water,  in  summer  three 
times,  and  in  winter  twice  a  day.  Soft  or  running  water  is  much 
the  best.  "While  working,  and  they  are  not  too  warm,  they 
may  have  it  as  often  as  they  desire.  Neither  should  they  be  fed 
when  heated,  as  the  stomach  is  then  fatigued  and  slightly  inflamed, 
and  is  not  prepared  for  digestion  till  the  animal  is  again  cool. 
Salt  should  always  be  within  reach,  and  we  have  found  an  occa- 
sional handful  of  clean  wood  ashes,  a  preventive  of  disease  and 
an  assistance  to  the  bowels  and  appetite. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


THE  ASS,  THE  MULE,  AND  THE  COMPAKATIVE  LABOR 
OF  WORKING  ANIMALS 

THE  ASS 

Is  a  native  of  Arabia,  Persia,  and  the  central  parts  of  Asia 
and  Africa.  Like  the  horse,  he  goes  in  troops,  and  displays 
great  natural  sagacity,  activity  and  courage.  Job  says,  "he 
scorneth  the  multitude  of  the  city,  neither  regardeth  the  crying 
of  the  driver."  Like  the  horse,  too,  he  has  from  time  immemo- 
rial been  tamed,  and  become  the  faithful  servant  of  man ;  but, 
unlike  him,  he  is  subject  to  few  maladies,  is  hardy  and  enduring, 
and  subsists,  and  even  thrives,  on  coarse  and  scanty  forage. 
Thus  Job  says  of  his  natural  haunts:  "Whose  house  I  have 
made  the  wilderness^  and  the  harren  land  his  dwellings;  the 
range  of  the  mountains  is  his  pasture,  and  he  searcheth  after 
every  green  thing ^  And  Xenophon,  in  his  Anabasis,  a  thousand 
years  later,  says  of  one  of  the  Asiatic  deserts  through  which  he 
passed  with  the  army  of  Cyrus,  "that  it  was  full  of  wormwood; 
if  any  other  kinds  of  shrubs  or  reeds  grew  there,  they  had  all 
an  aromatic  smell,  but  no  trees  appeared.  Of  wild  creatures,  the 
most  numerous  are  wild  asses,  which  our  horses  sometimes  chased, 
but  the  wild  asses  exceeded  them  much  in  speed." 

Yaeieties. — The  different  breeds  of  asses  are  supposed  to  be 
quite  as  numerous  as  those  of  the  horse.  Four  distinct  races  are 
mentioned  in  the  ancient  scriptures.  In  modern  times  we  find  a* 
similar  diversity.  There  are  two  kinds  in  Persia;  the  largest  a 
slow,  heavy  brute,  used  only  for  burdens ;  the  other  smaller  and 


THE  ASS. 


461 


more  spirited,  and  used  for  the  saddle.  In  Egypt,  a  considerable 
though  less  marked  difference  exists,  those  near  the  Delta  being 
inferior  to  those  which  are  bred  in  upper  Egypt  and  Nubia.  In 
Spain,  a  difference  in  size  and  spirit  prevails,  greater  even  than 
in  Persia.  The  Zebra  is  nearly  alhed  in  size,  shape  and  charac- 
ter to  the  wild  ass,  but  his  untamable  ferocity  has  hitherto  effect- 
ually bid  defiance  alike  to  the  scourges  and  caresses,  the  frowns 
and  the  favors  of  man.  Arabia  produces  some  of  the  most 
spirited  and  hardy  asses,  but  their  size,  like  that  of  their  horses, 
is  too  small  for  purposes  of  the  greatest  utihty.  The  Maltese 
jack  is,  by  American  breeders,  deemed  the  choicest  animal  from 
which  to  propagate.  He  is  evidently  of  Arabian  descent,  and 
posesses  all  the  good  qualities  of  his  ancestry,  with  considerable 
additional  size.  We  have  several  varieties,  all  of  which  are 
imported,  as  there  are  no  natives  of  the  Western  Continent. 
The  early  importations  were  principally  made  from  the  Azores 
and  Cape  de  Verd  Islands,  and  were  mostly  of  an  inferior  char- 
acter. A  superior  Maltese  jack  was  presented  to  General 
Washington,  in  1787,  by  La  Fayette,  and  is  believed  to  be  the 
first  ever  sent  to  this  country.  Mr.  Custis  describes  him  as  of 
moderate  size,  clean  limbed,  possessing  great  activity,  the  fire  and 
ferocity  of  a  tiger,  of  a  dark  brown  and  nearly  black,  white  belly 
and  muzzle,  and  manageable  only  by  one  groom,  nor  then  safely. 
He  lived  to  a  great  age.  His  mules  were  all  active,  spirited  and 
serviceable,  and  when  from  stout  mares,  attained  considerable 
size.  A  Spanish  jack  and  jennet  were  also  presented  to  Wash- 
ington about  the  same  time,  by  the  King  of  Spain.  The  first  is 
characterized  by  the  same  authority  as  a  huge,  ill-shapen  animal, 
nearly  sixteen  hands  high,  very  large  head,  clumsy  limbs,  and  to  all 
appearance  little  calculated  for  active  service;  he  was  of  a  gray 
color,  and  not  much  valued  for  his  mules,  which  were  unwieldy 
and  dull.  From  the  Maltese  jack  and  Spanish  jennet,  which 
approach  the  size  of  the  large  Spanish  jack,  was  bred  a  valuable' 
animal,  [Compound^)  which  partook  of  all  the  good  quahties  of 
the  sire,  with  the  weight  of  the  dam.    From  him  descended  many 


462 


AMERICAiJ  AGRICULTURE. 


of  the  best  mules  of  Mount  Vernon.  Many  other  valuable 
importations  have  since  followed  these  early  animals,  and  it  is 
believed  we  have  for  many  years  had  as  fine  specimens  of  the  ass 
as  the  world  affords.  Jennets,  or  she  asses,  are  used  among  us 
principally  for  breeding  jacks,  and  of  course  are  not  numerous. 
They  are  sometimes,  though  seldom,  bred  to  the  horse.  It  is 
difficult  to  induce  the  horse  to  notice  them,  and  the  produce, 
which  is  called  a  hinny,  is  less  hardy  and  useful  than  the  mule. 
The  milk  of  the  she  ass  is  lighter  and  more  digestible  than  that 
of  any  other  animal,  and  in  former  times  was  in  great  request  for 
invalids. 

In  this  country,  the  ass  is  occasionally  used  in  the  cart,  or  as  a 
beast  of  burden.  Such  as  are  employed  for  these  purposes  are 
generally  of  an  inferior  kind,  and  are  only  used  for  the  hghtest 
work.  They  may  sometimes  be  seen  among  the  fish-mongers 
and  small  vegetable  dealers  about  our  city  markets,  but  little 
larger  than  a  Shetland  pony,  trundling  along  a  fight  cart  with  a 
wheelbarrow  load.  In  ancient  times,  they  have  been,  and  in 
foreign  countries  at  the  present  time,  they  are  extensively  used 
by  the  peasantry  and  cottagers,  to  whom  they  prove  a  cheap  and 
convenient  drudge  in  the  many  miscellaneous  labors  of  their 
various  employments. 

There  is  probably  no  living  animal  that  so  well  answers  so 
many  purposes  for  drudgery  in  the  humbler  employments  of  the 
poor  as  the  cheap  donkeys  of  Europe,  in  the  British  Islands,  and 
on  the  Continent.  They  are  of  diminutive  size,  ranging  from 
three  and  a  half  to  four  feet  high,  yet  possessing  all  the  assinine 
quafities,  except  high  breeding  and  the  larger  size  of  those  more 
exclusively  used  for  mule  propagation.  They  are  kept  by  all 
classes  of  the  lower  laborers,  cottagers,  tinkers,  peddlers,  strolling 
handicraftsmen — in  fact  every  class  of  the  small,  self-supporting 
classes.  They  breed  freely,  live  in  the  cheapest  possible  way, 
under  shelter,  or  without  it;  on  the  roughest  forage  by  the  road- 
side, or  in  pastures,  or  on  cured  forage  in  the  stables.  They  are 
docile,  ever  ready  for  the  harness  in  cart  or  wagon,  or  the  pan- 


THE  MULE. 


463 


niers;  will  carry  burdens  and  draw  loads  almost  incredible  for 
their  size  and  weight;  are  good  and  handy  for  nudging  about 
under  the  saddle,  with  a  stout  rider  upon  it;  a  companion  and 
drudge  for  the  children  and  servants — in  short,  a  most  serviceable, 
indispensable  httle  brute  for  various  uses,  when  horse  or  even 
mule  labor  for  like  purposes  would  be  both  costly  and  incon- 
venient. There  is,  in  fact,  no  such  useful  animal  so  much 
maligned  as  the  donkey — otherwise,  ^'jackass''^ — and  none  which 
we,  Americans,  should  sooner  introduce  into  many  of  the  humbler 
employments  which  now  abound  and  are  rapidly  multiplying  in 
our  more  densely  populated  districts.  "Stupid  as  a  jackass!" 
It  is  a  vile  slander;  not  half  so  stupid  are  they  as  many  owners 
who  brutally  maltreat  them  and  get  a  living  out  of  their  labors, 
wanting  which,  they  would  starve. 

THE  MULE 

Is  the  hybrid  produced  by  the  ass  with  the  mare.  How  early 
this  animal  was  bred  is  uncertain,  but  we  know  he  was  in  high 
repute  in  the  reign  of  David,  near  three  thousand  years  ago,  for 
he  was  rode  by  Absalom,  the  favorite  prince  of  Israel,  on  the 
field  of  battle.  They  have  from  time  immemorial  been  bred  in 
various  parts  of  the  East,  on  the  borders  of  the  Mediterranean, 
and  throughout  Spain,  Portugal  and  other  countries,  many  of 
them  being  of  splendid  appearance  and  of  fine  qualities.  In 
these  countries,  they  are  frequently  used  by  the  grandees  and 
nobles,  and  indeed  by  royalty  itself;  and  however  much  they 
may  be  undervalued  elsewhere,  when  they  are  finely  bred  and 
trained,  and  richly  caparisoned,  they  exhibit  a  stateliness  and 
bearing  that  few  of  the  highest  bred  horses  can  excel. 

Breeding  Mules  in  the  United  States,  was  commenced 
with  much  spirit  in  some  of  the  New  England  States,  soon  after 
the  American  revolution.  The  object  was  not  to  breed  them  for 
their  own  use,  but  simply  as  an  article  of  commerce.  They  were 
at  first  shipped  exclusively  to  the  West  Indies,  and  afterwards 
to  the  South  and  West,  for  employment  in  the  sugar  mills,  and 


464 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


other  work  on  the  plantations.  Indifferent  animals,  both  as  sires 
and  dams,  were  used  at  first,  as  anything  which  bore  the  name 
of  mule,  then  commanded  a  ready  sale.  These  were  necessarily 
inferior  brutes,  and  viewed  with  almost  universal  derision  in  the 
States  where  they  were  bred;  and  being  considered  the  type  of 
their  race,  a  prejudicer  was  excited  against  them,  which  more  than 
half  a  century  has  not  been  sufficient  to  dispel.  Among  a  few 
thinking  men  at  the  North,  they  have  been  adopted  and  made 
highly  useful  in  the  various  duties  of  the  farm.  Of  late  they  have 
been  largely  introduced  into  the  Middle  States,  where  they  perform 
many  useful  slow  labors  in  draught  equally  well  as  in  the  planting 
States.  It  is  in  the  South,  and  in  other  and  hotter  climates, 
that  the  superior  merits  of  the  mule  over  the  horse  as  a  laboring 
animal,  are  peculiarly  manifest.  In  many  instances  they  are 
indifferently  fed,  hardly  worked,  and  greatly  neglected  by  their 
drivers,  and  yet  they  sustain  themselves  for  years  in  defiance  of 
usage  that  would  annihilate  two  generations  of  horses.  Their 
powers  have  been  largely  increased  and  their  merits  improved, 
by  the  introduction  of  some  of  the  best  Maltese  and  Spanish 
jacks,  and  the  use  of  large,  blood  mares.  The  propriety  of  this 
course  is  seen  in  the  value  of  the  product ;  for  while  some  of  the 
inferior  brutes  are  unsalable  at  $50,  others  of  the  same  age,  and 
reared  under  the  same  circumstances  of  keep  and  condition,  could 
not  be  purchased  for  $150  to  $300  each. 

The  hreeding^  rearing  and  management  of  mules  is  similar  to 
that  of  colts.  They  will  be  found,  as  much  as  horses,  to  repay 
generous  keep  and  attention  by  their  increased  and  rapid  growth. 
But  they  should  not  be  pampered  by  high  feed,  as  it  not  only 
has  a  tendency  to  produce  disease,  but  to  form  habits  of  fastidi- 
ousness, which  materially  lessens  their  economical  feeding  in  after 
life.  The  diseases  to  which  mules  are  subjected  which  are  always 
few, — and  if  properly  managed  they  will  seldom  or  ever  occur, — 
require  a  treatment  like  that  of  horses.  Mules,  as  a  rule, 
are  unable  to  breed,  although  instances  of  their  producing  young 
have  sometimes  occurred ;  but  we  have  never  learned  of  any  of 


THE  MULE. 


465 


their  offspring  living  to  adult  age.  Neither  the  sexual  develop- 
ment or  propensities  are  wanting,  but  they  are  seldom  indulged 
with  effect.  Mr.  Kilbj,  of  Virginia,  stated  in  the  "  Farmer's 
Register,"  that  a  mare  mule  brought  two  colts,  got  by  a  young 
horse,  which  they  closely  resembled.  The  first  was  a  male,  and 
died,  apparently  with  staggers,  which  no  treatment  could  arrest, 
at  six  months  old.  The  second  was  a  female,  from  the  same 
parents,  sixteen  months  younger  than  the  first,  marked  like  the 
sire,  being  jet  black,  excepting  a  white  foot,  and  star  in  the  fore- 
head, and  died  at  a  year  old,  after  a  two  days'  illness,  notwith- 
standing the  utmost  care  was  bestowed  upon  it.  Successful 
propagation  of  this  hybrid,  however,  beyond  the  first  cross, 
seems  to  be  incompatible  with  the  fixed  laws  of  nature. 

With  a  view  of  encouraging  the  substitution  of  mules  for  a 
part  of  the  horses  now  employed  in  American  husbandry,  we  give 
the  following  testimony  from  experienced  individuals  of  great 
intelhgence  and  careful  observation : 

Advantages  of  Mule  over  Horse  Labor. — The  official 
report  of  an  agricultural  committee  in  South  Carolina,  in  1824, 
says:  "The  annual  expense  of  keeping  a  horse  is  equal  to  his 
value ;  that  a  horse  at  four  years  old  would  not  often  bring  more 
than  his  cost;  that  two  mules  could  be  raised  at  less  expense  than 
one  horse ;  is  fit  for  service  earher,  and  if  of  sufficient  size,  will 
perform  as  much  labor;  and  if  attended  to  when  first  put  to  work, 
his  gait  and  habits  may  be  formed  to  suit  the  owner."  Mr. 
Pomeroy,  who  used  them  near  Boston  for  thirty  years,  and  to 
such  an  extent  as  to  have  had  more  labor  performed  by  them 
probably  than  any  person  in  New  England,  says :  "  I  am  convinced 
the  small  breed  of  mules  w^ill  consume  less  in  proportion  to  the 
labor  they  are  capable  of  performing  than  the  larger  race,  but  I 
shall  confine  myself  to  the  latter  in  my  comparison,  such  as  stand 
fourteen  and  a  half  to  sixteen  hands,  and  are  capable  of  performing 
any  work  a  horse  is  usually  put  to.  From  repeated  experiments 
I  have  found  that  three  mules  of  this  description,  which  were 
constantly  at  work,  consumed  about  the  same  quantity  of  hay, 
20* 


466  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 

and  onlj  one-fourili  the  provender  which  was  given  to  two  mid- 
dling size  coach  horses,  only  moderately  worked.  I  am  satisfied 
a  large  sized  mule  will  not  consume  more  than  three-fifths  to  two- 
thirds  the  food  to  keep  him  in  good  order,  that  will  be  necessary 
for  a  horse  performing  the  same  labor.  The  expense  of  shoeing 
a  mule  the  year  round,  does  not  exceed  one- third  that  of  the  horse, 
his  hoofs  being  harder,  more  homy,  and  so  slow  in  their  growth, 
that  shoes  require  no  removal,  and  hold  on  till  worn  out ;  and 
the  wear  from  the  lightness  of  the  animal  is  much  less.  Mules 
have  been  lost  by  feeding  on  cut  straw,  and  corn  meal ;  in  no 
other  instance  have  T  known  disease  in  them,  except  by  inflam- 
mation of  the  intestines,  caused  by  the  grossest  exposure  to  cold 
and  wet,  and  excessive  drinking  cold  water,  after  severe  labor, 
and  while  in  a  high  state  of  perspiration.  It  is  not  improbable  a 
farmer  may  work  the  same  team  of  mules  for  twenty  years  with- 
out having  a  farrier's  bill  presented  to  him.  In  my  experience 
of  thirty  years,  I  have  never  found  but  one  mule  inclined  to  be 
vicious,  and  he  might  have  been  easily  subdued  while  young.  I 
have  always  found  them  truer  pullers  and  quicker  travelers,  with 
a  load,  than  horses.  Their  vision  and  hearing  are  much  more 
accurate.  I  have  used  them  in  my  family  carriage,  in  a  gig,  and 
under  the  saddle ;  and  have  never  known  one  to  start  or  run 
from  any  object  or  noise,  a  fault  in  the  horse  that  continually 
causes  the  maiming  and  death  of  numerous  human  beings.  The 
mule  is  more  steady  in  his  draught  and  less  likely  to  waste  his 
strength  than  the  horse,  hence  more  suitable  to  work  with  oxen, 
and  as  he  walks  faster,  will  habituate  them  to  a  faster  gait.  In 
plowing  among  crops,  his  feet  being  small  and  following  each 
other  so  much  more  in  a  line,  he  seldom  treads  down  the  ridges 
or  crops.  The  facility  of  instructing  him  to  obey  implicitly  the 
voice  of  the  driver  is  astonishing.  The  best  plowing  of  tillage 
land  I  ever  saw,  I  have  had  performed  by  two  mules  tandem^ 
without  lines  or  driver.  The  mule  is  capable  of  enduring  labor 
m  a  temperature  of  heat  that  would  be  destructive  to  a  horse. 
.Although  a  large  mule  will  consume  something  over  one-half 


THE  MULE. 


467 


the  food  of  the  horse,  yet  the  saving  in  shoeing,  farriery,  and 
insurance  against  diseases  and  accidents,  will  amount  to  at 
least  one-half.  In  addition,  the  owner  may  rely  with  tolera- 
ble certainty  on  the  continuance  of  his  mule  capital  for  thirty 
years;  whereas  the  horse  owner  must,  at  the'end  of  fifteen  years, 
look  to  his  crops,  his  acres,  or  a  bank,  for  the  renewal  of  his. 
The  longevity  of  a  mule  is  proverbial.  Pliny  mentions  one 
eighty  years  old;  and  Dr.  Rees,  two  in  England,  that  reached 
the  age  of  seventy.  I  saw  one  performing  his  labor  in  a  cane 
mill  in  the  West  Indies,  which  the  owner  assured  me  was  forty 
years  old.  I  have  a  mare  mule  twenty-five  years  old,  that  I 
have  had  in  constant  work  for  twenty-one  years.  She  has  often 
within  a  year,  taken  a  ton  weight  in  a  wagon  to  Boston,  five 
miles,  and  manifests  no  diminution  of  her  powers.  A  neighbor 
has  one  twenty-eight  years  old,  which  he  would  not  exchange  for 
any  horse  in  the  country.  One  in  Maryland,  thirty-five  years 
old,  is  now  as  capable  of  labor  as  at  any  former  period." 

Mr.  Hood,  of  Maryland,  in  the  "American  Farmer,"  estimates 
the  annual  expense  of  a  horse  for  twelve  months  at  $44,  and 
that  of  a  mule  at  $22,  just  half  price,  and  his  working  age  at 
more  than  twice  that  of  the  horse,  and  that,  too,  after  thirty  years* 
experience  in  keeping  both.  A  correspondent  of  the  ''Baltimore 
Patriot"  asserts  that  "Colonel  John  B.  Howard  had  a  pair  of 
mules  that  worked  thirty  years,  after  which  they  were  sold  to  a 
carter  in  the  city,  and  performed  hard  service  for  several  years 
longer.  Many  mules  twenty-five  years  old,  and  now  in  this 
county,  perform  well.  Many  have  been  at  hard  work  for  twelve 
or  fifteen  years,  and  would  now  sell  for  $100  each.  They  are 
not  subject  to  the  colt's  ailments,  the  glanders,  heaves,  yellow- 
water,  and  colic,  like  horses,  and  seldom  are  afilicted  with  spavin, 
ring-bones,  or  bots;  and  they  will  not  founder."  General  Shelby 
says  "he  has  known  mules  to  travel  ten  miles  within  the  hour  in 
Hght  harness,  and  has  himself  driven  a  pair  forty  miles  in  six 
hours,  stopping  an  hour  by  the  way."  Major  Shelby,  of  Lexing- 
ton, sold  to  Mr.  Preston  four  match  mules,  for  $1,000.  They 


468 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


were,  of  course,  very  superior  animals,  and  made  elegant  coach 
liorses.  Mr.  Preston  has  driven  these  mules  eighty  miles  in  a 
single  day,  v^ithout  injury,  and  they  proved  a  first  rate  team  for 
many  years.  Mr.  Ellicott,  of  the  Patuxent  Furnaces,  says: 
"Out  of  about  one  hundred  mules  at  the  works,  we  have  not 
lost,  on  an  average,  one  in  two  years.  Bleeding  at  the  mouth 
will  cure  them  of  nearly  every  disease,  and  by  being  turned 
out  on  pasture,  they  will  recover  from  almost  every  accident.  I 
do  not  recollect  we  have  ever  had  a  wind-broken  one.  They  are 
scarcely  ever  defective  in  the  hoof,  and  though  kept  shod,  it  is 
not  as  important  as  with  the  horse.  Their  skin  is  tougher  than 
that  of  a  horse,  consequently,  they  are  not  as  much  worried  by 
flies,  nor  do  they  suffer  so  much  with  the  heat  of  summer." 

To  the  foregoing  testimony  may  be  added  that  of  the  late 
Judge  Hinckley,  of  Northampton,  Massachusetts,  a  shrewd  and 
close  observer  through  a  long  life,  reaching  to  eighty-four  years. 
He  bred  mules  at  an  early  day,  and  always  kept  a  team  of  them 
for  his  farm  work,  much  preferring  them  to  horses  for  this  pur- 
pose, after  an  experience  of  fifty  years.  He  had  a  pair  nearly 
thirty  years  old,  which,  in  light  pasturage  in  summer,  and  with  a 
moderate  supply  of  hay  and  very  little  grain  in  winter,  and  no 
grooming,  performed  all  the  drudgery,  though  he  kept  his  stable 
full  of  horses  besides.  They  outlived  several  successive  genera- 
tions of  horses,  and  though  the  latter  were  often  sick  and  out  of 
condition,  the  mules  never  were.  One  from  his  stock,  forty -five 
years  old,  was  sold  /or  the  same  price  paid  for  a  lot  of  young 
mules,  he  being  at  that  mature  age,  perfectly  able  to  perform  his 
full  share  of  labor. 

For  the  caravans,  which  in  past  years  have  drawn  their  loads 
over  the  almost  inaccessible  ranges  which  form  the  continuation 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  the  extensive  arid  plains  that  lie 
between  and  west  of  them,  on  the  route  from  Santa  Fe  to  Cah- 
fornia,  mules  have  been  the  only  beasts  of  burden  used  in  these 
exhausting  and  perilous  adventures.  Their  value  may  be  esti- 
mated from  the  comparative  prices  of  mules  and  horses ;  for  while 


THE  MULE. 


469 


a  horse  may  have  been  bought  for  $10  to  $20,  a  good  mule  was 
worth  $50  to  $75.  Br.  Lyman,  who  passed  through  those 
regions  twenty  years  ago,  informed  us  that  their  caravan  left 
Santa  Fe  with  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  mules,  fifteen  or 
twenty  horses,  all  beasts  of  burden,  and  two  choice  blood  horses, 
belonging  to  an  English  gentleman,  which  were  led  and  treated 
with  peculiar  care.  On  the  route,  all  the  working  horses  died 
from  exhaustion  and  suffering;  the  two  bloods  that  had  been  so 
carefully  attended,  but  just  survived ;  yet  of  the  whole  lot  of 
mules,  but  eight  or  ten  gave  out.  A  mule  thirty-six  years  of 
age,  was  as  hardy,  strong,  enduring,  and  performed  as  hard 
labor,  as  any  one  in  the  caravan.  When  thirst  compelled  them 
to  resort  for  successive  days  to  the  saline  waters,  which  are  the 
only  ones  furnished  by  those  dry  and  sterile  plains,  the  horses 
were  at  once  severely,  and  not  unfrequently,  fatally  affected, 
while  the  mules,  though  suffering  greatly  from  the  change,  yet 
seldom  were  so  much  injured  as  to  require  any  remission  of  their 
labor. 

The  mules  sent  to  the  Mexican  possessions  from  our  Western 
States,  Arkansas,  Missouri,  Tennessee,  and  Kentucky,  are  con- 
sidered of  much  more  value  than  such  as  are  bred  from  the  native 
(usually  wild)  mares.  The  difference  probably  arises,  in  part, 
from  the  Mexicans  using  jacks  inferior  to  those  so  highly  im- 
proved of  late  years  by  our  western  citizens.  Mare  mules  are 
estimated  in  those  regions  at  one-third  more  than  horse  mules. 
The  reason  assigned  for  this  is,  that  after  a  day's  journey  of 
excessive  fatigue,  there  is  a  larger  quantity  of  blood  secreted  in 
the  bladder,  which  the  female,  owing  to  her  larger  passage,  voids 
at  once  and  without  much  apparent  suffering,  while  the  male  does 
not  get  rid  of  it,  frequently,  till  after  an  hour  of  considerable  pam. 
The  effect  of  this  difference  is  seen  in  the  loss  of  flesh  and  strengtli 
in  the  male,  to  an  extent  far  beyond  that  of  the  female.  The 
universal  method  of  reducing  refractory  mules  in  the  northern 
Mexican  possessions,  is  for  the  person  to  grasp  them  firmly  by 
the  ears,  while  another  whips  them  severely  on  the  forelegs  and 
belly. 


470 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


Estimated  annual  saving  to  the  United  States  from  the  employ' 
ment  of  Mules  in  the  place  of  Horses. — To  sum  up  the  advantages 
of  working  mules  over  horses,  we  shall  have  as  advantage : 
1.  They  are  more  easily,  surely  and  cheaply  raised.  2.  They 
are  maintained,  after  commencing  work,  for  much  less  than  the 
cost  of  keeping  horses.  3.  They  are  not  subject  to  many  of 
the  diseases  of  the  horse,  and  to  others  only  in  a  mitigated 
degree,  and  even  these  are  easily  cured  in  the  mule.  4.  They 
attain  a  greater  age,  and  their  average  number  of  working  years 
is  probably  twice  that  of  the  horse. 

In  1860,  there  were  reported  to  be  6,115,458  horses,  and 
1,129,553  asses  and  mules  in  the  Union,  no  discrimination  hav- 
ing been  made  between  the  latter,  of  which  1,000,000  may  be 
mules.  Suppose  the  total  number  of  both  are  the  same  at  the 
present  time,  and  if  we  deduct  one-third,  and  the  odd  fraction  of 
the  number  of  horses,  supposed  to  be  required  for  the  purposes  of 
breed,  fancy,  etc.,  we  shall  then  have  4,000,000  horses,  whose 
places  may  be  equally  well  supplied  by  the  same  number  of  mules. 
We  have  seen  that  Mr.  Hood,  of  Maryland,  estimates  the  expense 
of  a  working  horse  at  $44  per  annum,  (not  an  over  estimate  for 
the  Atlantic  States,)  while  that  of  the  mule  is  $22.  The  differ- 
ence is  $22,  which  it  is  proper  to  reduce  to  meet  the  much  lower 
rate  of  keeping  at  the  west.  If  we  put  the  difference  at  $10, 
we  shall  find  the  saving  in  the  keep,  shoeing,  farriery,  etc.,  by 
substituting  mules  for  the  4,000,000  horses  that  can  be  dispensed 
with,  will  be  $40,000,000  per  annum.  But  this  is  not  all.  The 
working  age  of  the  horse  will  not  exceed  an  average  of  eight 
years,  while  that  of  the  mule  is  probably  over  sixteen.  To  the 
difference  of  keep  then,  must  be  added  the  annual  waste  of  the 
capital  invested  in  the  animal.  A  mule  is  more  cheaply  raised  to 
working  age  than  a  horse,  but  allowing  them  to  cost  equally,  we 
shall  have  the  horse  exhausting  one-eighth  or  three-twenty-fourths 
of  his  capital  annually  for  his  decay,  when  the  mule  is  using  up 
but  one-sixteenth;  and  if  we  allow  $48  as  the  first  cost  of  both 


THE  MULE, 


471 


animals,  we  shall  find  the  horse  wasting  $6  annually  for  this 
item,  while  the  mule  deteriorates  but  $3,  making  an  additional 
item  of  $12,000,000  more;  and  an  aggregate  of  $52,000,000  as 
the  annual  saving  to  the  United  States  by  substituting  good  mules 
for  three-fourths  of  the  horses  now  used  in  this  country. 

The  foregoing  remarks  are  the  mule  side  of  the  argument  in 
their  favor  against  the  horse,  presuming  that  the  facihties  of 
obtaining,  or  rearing  the  mule,  and  its  keeping,  is  equal  to  that 
of  the  horse.  But  such  is  not  the  fact.  Mule  breeding  is  chiefly 
confined  to  particular  localities  and  States  west  of  the  Allegany 
mountains. 

All  through  the  United  States,  irrespective  of  locality,  horses 
are  universally  kept  and  bred,  and  they  are  fitted  for  all  kinds 
of  farm  labor,  as  well  as  the  road,  and  easily  managed  by  men, 
boys,  and  even  women  and  girls.  They  are  docile,  tractable, 
kind,  and  gentle,  as  a  rule.  Therefore  they  are  readily  bred  and 
reared,  and  easily  accessible  to  every  one  needing  them.  Mules 
are  not  so.  Breeding  jacks  are  seldom  kept  out  of  the  mule 
breeding  districts ;  therefore  mules  cannot  be  bred  by  the  com- 
mon farmer  out  of  those  districts,  and  the  only  way  he  can  obtain 
them  is  by  purchase,  which  he  has  not  always  the  abihty  to  do, 
where,  within  his  own  immediate  means,  and  on  his  own  farm  he 
can  raise  more  or  less  colts,  either  for  his  own  use  or  for  sale. 

Aside  from  this,  there  is  no  pleasure  in  driving  a  mule  for  any 
labor,  except  the  mere  drudgery  of  the  draught,  either  in  farm 
or  road  work.  He  is  obstinate,  quarrelsome,  tricky,  when  not  in 
constant  use;  often  treacherous,  breachy  in  jumping  and  throwing 
fences  when  in  pastures,  and  safe  nowhere  but  in  the  stable,  when 
not  at  work.  Therefore  a  good  stock  of  patience  and  smooth 
temper  is  required  on  the  part  of  the  driver  of  mules.  The 
whole  question  may  be  summed  up  in  this:  when  economy  is  the 
sole  governing  object,  in  slow,  steady,  pertinacious  labor,  the 
mule  is  unquestionably  the  cheapest  and  most  serviceable  beast; 
but  in  all  the  varieties  of  farm  or  road  work,  the  horse  is  the 
most  desirable,  and  such  being  the  case  most  men  are  willing  to 


472 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


forego  the  increased  risk,  expense,  and  contingencies  of  the  horse,, 
for  the  superior  gratification  of  using  him. 

COMPARATIVE  ECONOMY  OF  HORSE  AND  OX  LABOR. 

This  is  a  question  which  has  been  often  discussed,  and  when 
with  candor,  the  conclusion  generally  has  been  in  favor  of  ox 
labor.  The  different  employments,  the  variety  of  situation,  the 
season,  and  the  kind  of  stock  reared  on  the  farm,  are  all  questions 
which  should  be  fully  considered  in  arriving  at  their  true  com- 
parative advantages.  Most  farmers  would  find  it  for  their  inter- 
est to  keep  teams  of  each,  where  there  is  employment  for  more 
than  one ;  or  if  this  be  not  the  case,  the  preference  should  be 
given  to  that  which  is  best  suited  in  all  respects  to  their  particu- 
lar position.  If  work  upon  the  road  is  required,  a  horse  team 
will  generally  be  best.  Their  superiority  will  consist  principally 
in  their  greater  speed,  for  even  with  a  heavy  load,  they  will  be 
able  to  trot  occasionally,  and  when  driven  without  it,  they  may 
increase  their  pace  to  nearly  double  the  natural  gait  of  the  ox. 
This  will  amount  to  a  large  annual  saving  in  the  time  of  the 
driver  when  steadily  employed.  The  same  is  true  when  remov- 
ing manure  or  crops  on  the  farm  to  remote  distances,  over  a 
smooth  surface,  which  admits  of  trotting  with  the  empty  wagon. 
Harrowing  ought  always  to  be  done  with  a  quick  team,  as  a  vio- 
lent stroke  of  the  teeth  breaks  the  clods,  and  pulverizes  the  earth 
much  better  than  when  slowly  dragged  along.  But  we  assume 
in  this  comparison,  that  oxen  shall  not  only  be  well  adapted  to 
their  work  by  their  natural  formation,  like  the  Hereford,  the 
Devon,  and  others  equally  good,  but  that  they  be  also  well  broke, 
well  managed,  accustomed  to  quick  movements,  and  as  well  fed 
and  looked  after  as  horses.  We  shall  then  find  their  walk  equal 
to  a  quick  horse  team,  and  that  in  this  case,  the  horse  will  have 
no  advantage  over  the  ox  in  harrowing.  For  plowing,  the  teams 
are  on  a  par,  as  a  good  ox  team  will  do  as  much  in  a  day  in  cool 
weather,  as  horses.  Where  the  loads  can  be  tipped,  as  in  unload- 
ing manure  in  the  field,  or  roots  through  a  scuttle,  or  in  heaps, 


HORSE  AND  OX  LABOR. 


473 


the  ox  cart,  or  the  two-wheel  single  horse  cart  is  best,  as  all  the 
labor  of  throwing  out  by  hand  is  avoided. 

The  situation  of  the  farm  may  materially  affect  this  estimate. 
In  a  warm  climate,  horses,  and  more  especially  mules,  would  be 
more  serviceable  than  oxen,  as  they  are  capable  of  enduring  much 
greater  heat  with  impunity.  If  the  farm  be  small  and  convenient 
to  market,  the  labor  may  in  general  be  best  accompHshed  by 
oxen,  as  httle  traveling  will  be  required.  So  too,  if  the  land  be 
stony  or  rough,  the  plowing  and  harrowing  will  be  more  kindly 
and  patiently  done  by  oxen  than  by  spirited  horses.  Other  con- 
siderations will  suggest  themselves  as  affecting  the  comparative 
economy  of  this  labor. 

The  time  of  work  is  to  be  fully  considered.  If  much  and 
heavy  work  be  required  in  summer,  as  is  often  the  case  in  plow- 
ing extensive  wheat  farms,  horses  are  to  be  preferred ;  yet  if  the 
ox-team  be  started  at  early  dawn,  and  worked  briskly  four  or  five 
hours,  and  then  turned  out  to  rest  with  a  supply  of  suitable  food, 
they  may  again  commence  when  the  extreme  heat  has  abated, 
and  accomphsh  a  day's  work  that  few  horses  will  exceed.  Dar- 
ing the  season  of  muddy  roads,  the  horse,  with  his  broad,  compact 
foot  and  longer  leg,  has  a  decided  advantage  over  the  ox.  If  the 
ox  draws  by  the  yoke,  (which  on  the  whole  is  the  best  mode,)  he 
is  hable  to  a  sore  neck  when  working  in  wet  or  snowy  weather, 
and  at  such  times  he  is  over-matched  by  his  competitor.  This  is 
partially  remedied  by  applying  a  decoction  of  white  or  yellow  oak 
bark. 

The  hind  of  stock  raised  on  the  farm  has  an  important  bearing 
on  this  question.  Some  farms  are  devoted  to  rearing  horses,  and 
some  exclusively  to  rearing  cattle.  These  sometimes  remain  on 
hand  after  they  are  fit  for  market,  from  the  want  of  a  profitable 
demand.  They  can  then  be  employed  not  only  without  injury, 
but  in  consequence  of  the  thorough  training  thus  secured,  with 
positive  benefit  to  their  future  value.  Even  if  intended  for  the 
shambles,  the  well  developed  ox  may  advantageously  be  put  to 
light  work  at  three,  after  which,  it  may  be  gradually  increased 


474 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


till  he  is  six  or  eight,  and  during  all  this  time  he  will  be  improv- 
ing, and  after  doing  an  earlj  spring's  work,  he  may  then  be 
turned  on  to  good  pasture,  and  if  followed  with  proper  stall-feed- 
ing, he  will  in  the  latter  part  of  the  winter  or  spring,  yield  a 
tender,  better  flavored  and  more  profitable  carcass  than  can  be 
procured  by  any  other  mode  of  fattening. 

The  first  cost  of  oxen  is  less  than-  that  of  horses,  and  they  are 
at  all  times  cheaply  reared  on  the  coarser  herbage  of  the  farm. 
The  expense  of  working-gear,  tackle  and  shoeing,  is  much  less 
than  with  horses.    They  are  subject  to  fewer  diseases,  and  these 
are  more  within  the  reach  of  ordinary  medicines.    The  cost  of 
food  is  also  less,  and  while  the  horse  is  depreciating,  the  ox  is 
increasing  in  value  till  eight  or  nine  years  old.    Accidents  are 
less  frequent  with  oxen,  from  their  slower  movements  ;  and  when 
they  occur,  the  ox  may  be  turned  out  to  fatten,  and  still  be  worth 
as  much  for  this  purpose  as  for  the  yoke.    A  permanent  injury 
to  the  horse,  is  perhaps  a  total  loss  of  the  beast,  with  a  large  far 
rier's  bill  in  addition,  for  which  there  is  nothing  to  hquidate  it 
but  the  hide.    The  small  farmer  can  make  out  a  most  serviceable 
team,  by  putting  a  single  horse  before  a  yoke  of  cattle.    If  well 
trained,  they  will  soon  accommodate  themselves  to  each  other's 
pace,  and  work  as  advantageously  together,  as  an  entire  team  of 
either  animals  would  do  alone.    Bulls  are  frequently  put  to  the  ' 
draught,  and  when  they  have  not  other  services  that  fully  test 
their  powers,  they  cannot  be  better  employed.    Heifers  and  cows 
are  sometimes  worked,  but  hitherto  they  have  not  been  used  to 
any  extent  in  this  country.    In  the  absence  of  other  animals, 
they  might  perform  light  work  to  advantage,  but  severe  labor 
would  stint  their  growth  or  impair  their  milk  beyond  the  benefit 
derived  from  it.    The  spayed  heifer  is  an  exception  to  the  fore- 
going remark,  and  by  many,  is  esteemed  even  more  useful  than 
an  ox  of  equal  weight.    TVe  have  no  definite  statements  of  the 
comparative  money  value  of  the  labor  of  oxen  and  horses.  But 
in  England,  repeated  trials  have  been  made,  and  while  some  have 
found  no  advantage  in  the  employment  of  oxen  over  horse% 


HORSE  AND  OX  LABOR. 


475 


Others  have  proved  them  decidedly  superior.  One  Anglesey 
farmer,  found  in  an  experience  of  three  years,  with  twelve  horses 
and  twenty  oxen,  which  accomplished  an  equal  amount  of  work, 
that  he  had  saved  by  the  latter  £236,  or  nearly  $1,180.  This 
result  proves  the  subject  to  be  one  of  sufficient  importance,  to 
justify  the  closest  investigation  of  every  farmer  to  determine  for 
himself,  the  comparative  value  of  ox,  horse  or  mule  labor. 

After  all,  the  character  of  the  farm,  the  kinds  of  crops  raised, 
and  the  various  other  work  to  be  performed,  must  decide  the 
policy  and  economy  of  employing  either  ox,  horse  or  mule  labor. 
The  greatest  impediment  to  ox  labor  on  the  fiirm,  is  their  inability 
to  endure  our  intensely  warm  summer  weather,  and  to  obtain 
good  ox  teamsters. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


SWINE. 


The  hog  is  a  cosmopolite  of  almost  every  zone,  though  his 
natural  haunts,  like  those  of  the  hippopotamus,  the  elephant,  the 
rhinoceros  and  most  of  the  thick-skinned  animals,  are  in  warm 
climates.  They  are  most  abundant  in  China,  the  East  Indies, 
and  the  immense  range  of  Islands  which  extend  over  the  whole 
Southern  and  Pacific  Oceans ;  but  they  are  also  numerous  through- 
out Europe,  from  its  southern  coast  to  the  Russian  dominions 
within  the  Arctic.  In  the  United  States,  they  have  been  an 
object  of  attention  since  its  earliest  settlements,  and  whenever 
a  profitable  market  could  be  found  for  pork  abroad,  it  has  been 
exported  to  the  full  extent  of  the  demand.  For  twenty  years 
following  the  commencement  of  the  general  European  wars,  soon 
after  the  organization  of  our  national  government,  it  was  a  com- 
paratively large  article  of  export ;  but  since  then,  exports  to  any 
extent,  have  not  been  justified,  until  within  the  last  twenty-five 
years,  in  which  a  material  reduction  in  the  British  import  duty  on 
pork,  lard,  hams,  beef,  etc.,  has  again  brought  it  up  as  a  promi- 
nent article  of  commerce  with  that  country.  The  recent  use 
which  has  been  made  of  the  carcass  in  converting  it  into  lard  oil, 
has  still  further  increased  its  consumption.  Swine  are  reared  in 
every  part  of  the  Union,  and  when  properly  managed,  always  at 
a  fair  profit.  At  the  extreme  North,  in  the  neighborhood  of  large 
markets,  and  on  such  of  the  southern  plantations  as  are  particularly 
suited  to  sugar  or  rice,  they  are  not  profitable,  beyond  the  num- 
ber required  for  the  consumption  of  the  coarse  or  refuse "  food 
produced.    While  pork  remains  at  a  moderate  price,  it  can  only 


SWINE. 


477 


be  advantageously  raised  on  a  large  scale  on  good  soils,  as  it  is 
such  only  that  yield  heavy  crops  of  grain,  roots,  etc.,  which  are 
essential  to  fattening  it.  Swine  are  profitable  in  connection  with 
a  dairy  or  orchard,  as  with  little  additional  food  besides  what  is 
thus  afforded,  they  can  be  put  into  good  condition  for  the  butcher. 
It  is  on  the  rich  bottoms,  and  other  lands  of  the  West,  where  Indian 
corn  is  raised  in  profusion,  and  at  small  expense,  that  they  can  be 
reared  in  the  greatest  numbers  and  yield  the  largest  profit.  The 
extensive  and  fertile  States  west  of  the  AUeganies,  have  for  many 
years,  taken  the  lead  in  the  production  of  swine;  and  it  is  proba- 
ble their  climate  and  soil,  which  is  peculiarly  suited  to  their  rapid 
growth,  as  well  as  that  of  their  appropriate  food,  will  enable  them 
forever  to  remain  the  leading  pork  producers  of  the  North  Ameri- 
can Continent. 

The  Breeds  of  Swine  cultivated  in  this  country  are  numer- 
ous, and  like  our  native  cattle,  they  embrace  many  of  the  best, 
and  a  few  of  the  worst  to  be  found  among  the  species.  Great 
attention  has  for  many  years  been  paid  to  their  improvement  in 
the  Eastern  States,  and  nowhere  are  there  better  specimens  than 
in  many  of  their  herds.  This  spirit  has.  rapidly  extended  west- 
ward and  southward,  and  among  many  of  the  intelligent  farmers, 
who  make  them  a  leading  object  of  attention,  on  the  rich  corn 
grounds  of  the  "West,  the  swine  have  attained  a  great  degree  of 
excellence.  This  has  been  accomplished  by  the  introduction  and 
perpetuity  of  some  of  the  distinct  races,  and  in  the  breeding  up 
to  a  desirable  size  and  aptitude  for  fattening,  from  such  meritorious 
individuals  of  the  breeds,  or  their  crosses,  as  have  come  within 
their  reach. 

Among  the  different  breeds  of  swine  imported  here  within  the 
present  century,  are  the  spotted  black  and  white  Chinese — 
among  the  earliest — and  the  white  Byefield^  or  Grass  breed,  both 
small-boned,  chunky  varieties.  These  were,  in  the  Eastern  States, 
crossed  on  to  the  coarse,  rangy  hogs,  then  common  throughout 
the  country,  and  considerably  improved  their  shapes  and  the 
quality  of  their  flesh.    They  were  followed,  years  afterwards, 


478 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


hj  the  Leicester^  a  large  white,  rather  coarse,  but  rangy  animal. 
All  these  crosses  were  variously  intermixed,  and  bred  much  to 
the  improvement  of  the  old  race,  and  perhaps  even  the  new 
breeds  themselves. 

But  probably  the  most  marked  improvement  made  upon  the 
swine  family,  was  by  the  introduction  of  the  Berkshires  about 
the  year  1832,  by  two  English  farmers,  Mr.  Brentnall,  into  Orange, 
and  Mr.  Hawes,  into  Albany  counties.  New  York.    This  was,  at 
the  time,  considered  the  best  English  breed  for  all  uses  in  Eng- 
land, and  built  up  from  a  cross  of  the  small,  plump  China  pig,  on 
the  ancient  Berkshire  stock,  a  large,  stout,  but  well  made  beast 
of  a  dark  sandy  and  white  color.     The  improved  breed  were 
chiefly  black,  or  deep  plum  color,  mixed  with  a  little  white,  round, 
long,  and  full  in  the  carcass,  with  full  shoulders,  long  bodies,  and 
round  plump  hams.    They  soon  became  very  popular,  and  widely 
disseminated  all  over  the  country.    Several  other  importations 
rapidly  followed  those  of  Messrs.  Brentnall  and  Hawes,  but  by 
far  the  largest  and  finest  importation  of  this  breed  was  made  in 
the  year  1841,  by  Mr.  A.  B.  Allen,  then  residing  at  Bufialo,  N.Y 
He  selected  them  in  England,  himself,  in  the  county  of  Berkshire, 
from  the  most  noted  breeders.   We  have  never  seen  specimens  of 
the  breed  excelling,  or  scarcely  equaling  in  size  and  symmetry,  that 
importation,  although  many  Berkshires  have  been  since  imported 
by  other  parties.    The  produce  of  that  importation  of  Mr.  Allen, 
was  more  widely  spread  throughout  the  several  States,  East, 
West,  North  and  South,  than  any  other,  and  added  greatly  to  the 
popularity  of  the  breed,  and  to  the  improvement  of  our  swine 
generally.    Mr.  Allen,  at  the  same  time,  brought  out  several  of 
the  Kenilworths^  a  large  white  breed  which  he  found  in  the 
vicinity  of  Kenilworth  castle,  which  he  afterwards  bred  and  dis- 
tributed, chiefly  in  the  Western  States.    Owing,  however,  to  the 
unprecedented  low  price  of  meats  which,  within  a  few  years  after- 
wards, followed  those  importations — ^pork  falling  to  the  very  low 
price  of  two  to  three  cents  a  pound,  by  the  carcass,  in  our  chief 
meat  markets — the  inducement  to  their  extension  fell  off,  and 


SWINE.  479 

their  further  choice  breeding  almost  altogether  ceased.  But  the 
stock  was  here,  and  the  gradual  improvement  of  most  of  our 
swine  families  continued. 

As  prices  of  meats  afterwards  advanced,  further  importations 
were  made,  not  only  of  Berhshires^  but  Essex  (black,)  Suffolks 
(white,)  of  the  smaller  breeds,  and  the  Yorkshires  (white,)  Chesh- 
ires  (white,)  of  the  larger  breeds,  and  Neapolitans^  (mostly  black,) 
by  Mr.  L.  G.  Morris,  of  Westchester,  Mr.  Samuel  Thome,  Mr. 
C.  S.  Wainwright,  of  Duchess  counties,  N.  Y.,  the  late  Mr.  James 
G.  King,  and  Mr.  John  C.  Jackson,  of  New  York  city.  Several 
other  importations  of  Suffolk,  and  other  breeds,  were  made  by 
Mr.  Stickney,  of  Boston,  and  others  since,  whose  names  are  not 
now  recollected,  in  different  Eastern  cities.  Very  fine  York- 
shires were  imported  by  Mr.  Brodie,  of  J efferson  county,  N.  Y., 
and  some  Canadian  farmers.  These  latter  were  of  the  largest 
breed  yet  imported,  very  long,  fine,  and  rangy  in  figure.  All 
these  breeds  have  been  widely  distributed,  and  greatly  to  the 
improvement  of  the  prime  stock  of  our  country. 

Breeding. — Swine  should  not  be  allowed  to  breed  before 
twelve  or  fifteen  months  old,  unless  the  animals  are  large  and 
coarse,  when  they  may  be  put  to  it  somewhat  younger.  Not 
only  choice  individuals,  but  such  as  are  well  descended,  should  be 
selected  for  the  purpose  of  breeding.  The  sow  should  be  in  good 
condition,  but  not  fat,  nor  approaching  to  it,  and  a  proper  degree 
of  exercise  is  essential  to  the  development  of  the  foetus  and  the 
health  of  the  parent;  for  which  reason  she  should  have  an 
extended  range  connected  with  her  pen.  The  sow  goes  with 
young  about  one  hundred  and  fourteen  days.  A  week  before  her 
time  comes  round,  a  comfortable,  quiet  place  should  be  prepared 
for  her  under  cover,  and  well  protected  from  cold,  if  the  weather 
be  severe,  or  if  warm,  a  range  in  a  pasture  with  an  open  shed 
to  retire  to,  is  sufficient.  Too  much  litter  for  bedding  must  be 
avoided,  and  no  change  or  disturbance  of  the  sow  permitted  till 
two  or  three  weeks  after  pigging,  as  the  restlessness  thereby  pro- 
duced may  result  in  the  loss  of  the  pigs.    The  sow  should  be  fed 


480  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 

0 

only  with  a  sm-all  quantity  of  the  lightest  food  or  thin  gruel,  for 
two  or  three  days,  nor  put  on  full  feed  for  a  week.  If  inclined 
to  eat  her  pigs,  she  should  be  fed  two  or  three  times  with  raw 
pork  or  fresh  meat.  The  pigs  may  be  taught  to  crack  oats  or 
soaked  corn  after  three  or  four  weeks,  but  those,  or  any  other 
grains,  are  much  better  for  being  ground,  and  corn  cooked,  if  pos- 
sible. Milk  is  the  best  food  to  wean  pigs  on,  where  it  can  be  had, 
and  meal  mixed  gradually  as  they  grow  older.  The  pigs,  at  this 
time,  should  be  provided  with  a  trough  inaccessible  to  the  dam; 
they  will  soon  learn  to  feed  on  milk  and  other  food,  preparatory 
to  weaning.  This  may  take  place  when  they  are  eight  or  ten 
weeks  old,  and  to  prevent  injury  to  the  sow,  let  one  or  two 
remain  with  her  a  few  days  longer,  and  when  finally  removed, 
if  her  bag  appears  to  be  full,  they  may  be  allowed  to  drain  the 
milk  after  twenty  or  thirty  hours. ,  The  sow  should  be  restricted 
to  a  light,  dry  diet  for  a  few  days.  At  six  to  eight  weeks  old, 
the  male  pigs,  intended  for  pork,  should  be  castrated. 

Raising,  Feeding  and  Fattening. — There  are  but  two 
objects  in  keeping  swine, — for  breeding,  and  for  slaughter, — and 
their  management  is  consequently  simple.  Those  designed  for 
breeding  should  be  kept  in  growing  condition,  on  light  food,  and 
have  every  advantage  for  exercise.  Such  as  are  destined  exclu- 
sively for  fattening,  ought  to  be  steadily  kept  to  the  object.  It 
is  the  usual  practice,  with  extensive  pork  raisers,  in  this  country, 
to  let  spring  pigs  run  at  large  for  the  first  fifteen  months,  with 
such  food  as  is  convenient,  and  if  fed  at  all,  it  is  only  to  keep 
them  in  moderate  growth  till  the  second  autumn.  They  are  then 
put  up  to  fatten,  and  in  the  course  of  sixty  or  ninety  days,  are 
fed  off  and  slaughtered.  During  this  brief  period,  they  gain 
from  fifty  to  one  hundred  per  cent,  more  of  dressed  weight,  than 
lathe  fifteen  or  eighteen  months  preceding;  nor  even  then  do 
they  yield  a  greater  average  weight  than  is  often  attained  by 
choice,  thrifty  pigs,  which  have  been  well  fed  from  weaning  to 
the  age  of  eight  or  ten  months.  Three  pigs,  when  precisely  seven 
and  a  half  months  old,  dressed  230,  235  and  238j^  pounds. 


SWINE. 


481 


Two  others,  at  nine  months,  dressed  304  and  310  pounds.' 
Three  others,  seven  months  and  twenty-seven  days  old,  weighed 
240,  250  and  257  pounds  net.    Innumerable  instances  could 
be  adduced  of  similar  weights,  gained  within  the  same  time, 
with  a  good  breed  of  animals  under  good  treatment.    We  have 
no  one  accurate  account  of  the  food  consumed,  so  as  to  deter 
mine  the  relative  profit  of  short  or  long  feeding.    But  that 
an  animal  must  consume  much  more  in  eighteen  or  twenty  months 
to  produce  the  same  quantity  of  dressed  meat,  which  is  made  by 
others  of  eight  or  ten  months,  does  not  admit  of  a  doubt.  We 
have  seen  that  an  ox  requires  but  little  more  than  double  the 
quantity  of  food  to  fatten,  that  is  necessary  for  supporting  exisl- 
ence.    If  we  apply  this  principle  to  swine,  and  state  the  quantity 
of  food  which  will  fatten  the  pig  rapidly,  to  be  three  times  aa 
great  as  for  the  support  of  life,  we  shall  find  that  the  pig  will 
fatten  in  seven  months,  on  the  same  food  he  would  consume  to 
keep  him  alive  for  twenty-one.    This  is  based  on  the  supposition 
that  both  animals  are  of  equal  size.    But  the  pig  that  matures 
and  is  slaughtered  at  seven  months,  has  only  a  moderate  capacity 
for  eating.    During  the  early  stages  of  his  growth,  his  size,  and 
the  consequent  incapacity  of  the  digestive  organs,  prevent  the 
consumption  of  the  same  quantity  which  the  larger  animal 
requires ;  and  his  accumulating  fat,  his  limited  respiration,  conse- 
quent upon  the  compression  of  his  lungs,  and  his  indisposition 
to  exercise^  all  conspire  to  keep  the  consumption  of  food  within 
the  smallest  possible  limit.    This  result,  in  the  absence  of  any 
experiment,  must  be  conjectural  entirely;  but  we  believe  that 
experiments  will  show  that  of  two  thrifty  pigs  from  the  same 
litter,  one  of  which  is  properly  fed  to  his  utmost  capacity  for 
seven  months^  and  the  other  fed  with  precisely  double  the  quan- 
tity of  similar  food  for  twenty-one  months,  the  first  will  yield 
more  carcass  and  of  a  better  and  more  profitable  quality  than  the 
latter,  which  has  consumed  one  hundred  per  cent,  the  most.  The 
food  is  only  one  item  iu  this  calculation.    The  oldest  requires  the 
most  attention,  is  liable  to  more  accidents  and  disease,  besides  the 
21 


4S2 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


loss  of  interest.  Some  good  farmers  assert,  that  by  far  the  cheap- 
est mode  of  wintering  pigs  is  in  the  pork  barrel.  We  can  readily 
anticipate  one  objection  to  this  practice,  which  is  the  want  of  food  in 
the  early  part  of  the  season  to  fatten  them.  This  can  be  obviated 
by  reserving  enough  of  the  previous  year's  grain,  to  keep  the 
animal  in  a  rapidly  thriving  state  till  the  next  crop  matures  suffi- 
ciently to  feed.  Spring  pigs  to  be  fatted,  at  a  few  months  old, 
should  be  of  the  smaller  breeds,  which  acquire  an  early  growth, 
as  the  China,  Essex  or  Sufiblk.  The  larger  breeds  require  a 
longer  time  for  maturity  and  to  take  on  their  full  quantity  of 
flesh. 

In  the  rich  corn  regions  of  the  "Western  States,  the  old  waste- 
ful way  of  turning  swine  into  the  corn  fields  to  fatten,  is  now 
mostly  discontinued  from  the  increased  value  of  the  harvested 
grain,  and  it  is  fed  to  them  from  the  harvest  wagon,  or  crib.  But 
penning  them  under  shelter,  and  grinding  and  cooking  the  food, 
would  be  more  economical.  If  fattened  early  in  the  season,  they 
will  consume  less  food  to  make  an  equal  amount  of  flesh  than  in 
colder  weather;  they  will  require  less  attention,  and  generally 
early  pork  commands  the  highest  price  in  market. 

It  is  most  economical  to  provide  the  swine  with  a  fine  clover 
pasture  to  run  in  during  the  spring  and  summer,  and  they  ought 
also  to  have  access  to  the  orchard,  to  pick  up  all  the  unripe  and 
superfluous  fruit  that  falls.  They  should  also  have  the  wash  of 
the  house  and  the  dairy,  to  which  add  meal,  and  sour  in  large 
tubs  or  barrels.  Not  less  than  one-third,  and  perhaps  more,  of 
the  whole  grain  fed  to  swine,  is  saved  by  grinding  and  cooking, 
or  souring.  Yet  care  must  be  observed  that  the  souring  be  not 
carried  so  far  as  to  injure  the  food  by  putrefaction.  A  mixture 
of  meal  and  water,  with  the  addition  of  yeast,  or  such  remains 
of  a  former  fermentation  as  adhere  to  the  side  or  bottom  of  the 
vessel,  and  exposure  to  a  temperature  between  68°  and  77°  will 
produce  immediate  fermentation.  In  this  process  there  are  five 
stages.  The  saccharine^  by  which  the  starch  and  gum  are  con- 
verted into  sugar ;  the  vinous^  which  changes  the  sugar  into  alco- 
hol ;  the  mucilaginous^  sometimes  taking  the  place  of  the  vinous, 


SWINE. 


483 


and  occurs  when  the  sugar  solution,  or  fermenting  principle  is 
weak,  producing  a  slimy,  glutinous  product;  the  acetic^  forming 
vinegar,  and  the  putrefactive^  which  destroys  all  the  nutritive 
principles  and  converts  them  into  a  poison.  The  precise  point  in 
fermentation  when  the  food  becomes  most  profitable  for  feeding, 
has  not  jet  been  satisfactorilj  determined;  but  that  it  should 
stop  short  of  the  putrefactive,  and  probably  the  acetic,  is  certain. 

The  roots  for  fattening  animals  ought  to  be  washed,  and 
steamed  or  boiled,  and  when  not  intended  to  be  fermented,  the 
meal  ought  always  to  be  scalded  with  the  hot  roots.  Such  a 
quantity  of  salt  as  will  not  scour,  may  be  added  to  every  prepa- 
ration for  swine.  Potatoes  are  the  best  roots  for  swme;  then 
parsnips,  orange  or  red  carrots,  white  or  Belgian  sugar  beets, 
mangold-wurzel,  in  the  order  mentioned.  The  nutritive  proper- 
ties of  turnips  are  diffused  through  so  large  a  bulk,  that  we  doubt 
if  they  can  ever  be  fed  to  fattening  swine  with  advantage ;  and 
they  will  barely  sustain  life  when  fed  to  them  uncooked.  There 
is  a  great  loss  in  feeding  roots  to  fattening  swine,  without  cook- 
ing. The  animal  machine  is  an  expensive  one  to  keep  in  motion, 
and  it  should  be  the  object  of  the  farmer  to  put  his  food  in  the 
most  available  condition,  for  its  immediate  conversion  into  fat  and 
muscle.  Swine  ought  to  be  kept  perfectly  dry  and  clean,  and 
provided  with  a  warm  shelter,  to  which  they  can  retire  at  pleas- 
ure. This  will  greatly  hasten  the  fattening  and  economize  the 
food.  A  hog  ought  to  have  three  apartments,  one  each  for 
sleeping,  eating,  and  evacuations,  of  which  the  last  ought  to 
occupy  the  lowest,  and  the  first  the  highest  level,  so  that  nothing 
shall  be  drained,  and  as  little  carried  into  the  first  two  as  possi- 
ble. They  must  be  regularly  fed  three  times  a  day,  and  if  there 
is  a  surplus,  it  must  be  removed  at  once.  If  they  are  closely 
confined  in  pens,  give  them  as  much  charcoal  twice  a  week  as 
they  will  eat.  This  corrects  any  tendency  to  disorders  of  the 
stomach.  Kotten  wood  is  an  imperfect  substitute  for  charcoal. 
Greaves,  scraps  or  cracklings,  as  they  are  variously  called,  the 
residuum  of  rough  lard  or  tallow  after  expressing  the  fat,  are  a 
good  change  and  an  economical  food.     Some  animal  food, 


484 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


although  not  essential,  is  always  acceptable  to  swine.  "When 
about  to  finish  them  off,  many  feed  for  a  few  weeks  on  hard 
corn.  This  is  proper  when  slops  or  indifferent  food  has  been 
given,  and  meal  cannot  be  conveniently  procured ;  but  when  fat- 
tened on  sound  roots  and  meal,  it  is  a  wasteful  practice,  as  the 
animal  thus  falls  behind  his  accustomed  growth.  It  is  better  to 
give  him  an  occasional  feed  of  the-  raw  grain,  for  a  change,  and 
to  sharpen  his  appetite. 

The  products  furnished  by  swine  are  numerous.  Every  part 
of  the  carcass  is  used  for  food,  and  it  admits  of  a  far  greater 
variety  of  preparation  for  the  table,  than  any  other  flesh.  From 
the  remotest  antiquity  to  the  present  time,  and  in  every  grade  of 
barbarous  and  civilized  life,  it  has  been  esteemed  as  one  of  the 
choicest  delicacies  of  the  epicure.  Lard  oil  has  within  a  few 
years,  given  to  pork  a  new  and  profitable  use,  by  which  the  value 
of  the  carcass  is  greatly  increased.  At  some  of  the  large  pork 
packing  depots  of  the  West,  one-third  of  the  whole  quantity  has, 
in  some  years,  been  thus  disposed  of,  which  withdrew  a  large 
amount  of  pork  from  the  market,  and  prevented  the  depression 
which  must  otherwise  have  occurred. 

Stearme  and  Oleine, — Lard,  and  all  fatty  matters,  consist  of 
three  principles,  of  which  stearine  contains  the  stearic  and  mar- 
garic  acids,  both  of  which,  when  separated,  are  solid  and  used  as 
inferior  substitutes  for  wax  or  spermaceti  candles.  The  other, 
oleine,  is  fluid  at  a  low  temperature,  and  in  American  commerce, 
is  known  as  lard  oil.  It  is  very  pure  and  extensively  used  for 
machinery,  and  most  of  the  purposes  for  which  olive  and  sperma- 
ceti oils  are  used. 

Curing  Hams  and  Porh, — After  dressing,  the  carcass  should 
be  allowed  to  hang  till  perfectly  drained  and  cool,  when  it  may 
be  cut  up  and  salted.  The  usual  way  is  to  pack  the  pork  in  clean 
salt,  adding  brine  to  the  barrel  when  filled.  But  it  may  be  dry 
salted,  by  rubbing  it  in  thoroughly  on  every  side  of  each  piece, 
with  a  strong  leather  rubber,  firmly  secured  to  the  palm  of  the 
right  hand.    The  pieces  are  then  thrown  into  heaps  and  sprinkled 


SWINE. 


485 


with  salt,  and  occasionallj  turned  till  cured ;  or  it  may  at  once  be 
packed  in  dry  casks,  which  are  occasionally  rolled  to  bring  the 
salt  into  contact  with  every  part.  Hams  and  shoulders  may  be 
cured  in  the  same  manner,  either  dry  or  in  pickle,  but  with  differ- 
ently arranged  materials.  The  following  is  a  good  pickle  for  two 
hundred  pounds.  Take  14  lbs.  of  Turk's  Island  or  other  pure 
salt,  K  lb.  of  saltpeter,  2  qts.  of  molasses,  or  4  lbs.  of  brown 
sugar^  with  water  enough  to  dissolve  them.  Bring  the  hquor  to 
the  scalding  point,  and  skim  off  all  the  impurities  which  rise  to 
the  top.  When  cold,  pour  it  upon  the  hams,  which  should  be 
oerfectly  cool  but  not  frozen,  and  closely  packed;  and  if  not 
sufficient  to  cover  it,  add  enough  pure  water  for  this  purpose. 
Some  extensive  packers  in  the  great  slaughter  houses,  who  send 
choice  hams  to  market,  add  pepper,  allspice,  cinnamon,  nutmegs 
or  mace,  and  cloves.  The  hams  may  remain  six  to  "eight  weeks 
in  this  pickle,  then  hung,  up  in  the  smoke  house,  with  the  small 
end  down,  and  smoked  from  ten  to  twenty  days,  according  to  the 
quantity  of  smoke.  The  fire  should  not  be  near  enough  to  heat 
the  hams.  In  Holland  and  Westphaha,  the  fire  is  made  in  the 
cellar,  and  the  smoke  carried  by  a  flue  into  a  cool,  dry  chamber. 
This  is  undoubtedly  the  best  method  of  smoking.  The  hams 
should  at  all  times  be  dry  and  cool,  or  their  flavor  will  suffer. 
Green  sugar  maple  chips  are  best  for  smoke ;  next  to  them  are 
hickory,  sweet  birch,  corn  cobs,  white  ash,  or  beech.  -The  smoke 
house  is  the  best  place  to  keep  hams  till  wanted.  If  removed, 
they  should  be  kept  cool,  dry  and  free  from  flies.  A  canvas 
cover  for  each,  saturated  with  lime,  which  may  be  put  on  with  a 
whitewash  brush,  is  a  perfect  protection  against  flies.  "When 
not  to  be  kept  long,  they  may  be  packed  in  dry  salt,  or  even  in 
sweet  brine,  without  injury.  A  common  method  is  to  pack  in 
dry  oats,  baked  sawdust,  grain  or  hay,  chaff  or  dry  ashes. 

The  sides,  or  rib  pieces  of  hght  pork  carcasses,  are  extensively 
made  into  bacon.  They  are  cured  by  salting  them  in  piles  on 
forms  or  benches,  as  hams  and  shoulders,  and  curing  them  by 
smoking.    They  make  an  excellent  and  convenient  meat. 


CHAPTEE  XXI 


POULTRY,  Etc. 

Choice  varieties  of  fowls  add  a  pleasant  feature  to  the  farm 
premises.     Thej  engage  the  attention  and  sympathy  of  the' 
juvenile  farmers,  and  the  time  bestowed  in  the  poultry  yard  keeps 
them  from  mischief  is  an  agreeable  and  salutary  rehef  for  toil  and 
study,  and  elicits  the  taste,  the  judgment,  and  the  kindlier  feehngs 
of  humanity,  which  are  to  be  matured  in  the  future  accomplished 
breeder.    When  properly  managed,  poultry  are  a  source  of  con- 
siderable  profit,  yielding  more  for  the  food  they  consume,  than 
any  other  stock,  although  their  value  is  not  often  considered. 
The  agricultural  statistics  of  the  United  States,  for  1839— thirty 
years  ago— gave  its  value  at  over  $12,000,000,  and  the  current 
value  of  the  poultry  in  the  United  States  is  now  probably  twenty 
millions  of  dollars,  and  its  annual  product  in  eggs  and  flesh  is 
much  greater.    It  is  estimated  by  McQueen,  that  the  poultry  of 
England  exceeds  $40,000,000,  and  yet  McCulloch  says,  she 
imports  60,000,000  eggs  annually  from  France,  (McQueen  states 
it  at  near  70,000,000;)  and  from  other  parts  of  the  continent^ 
25,000,000;   besides  80,000,000  imported  from  Ireland.  The 
people  of  the  United  States  are  much  larger  egg  and  poultry  con- 
sumers than  the  BngHsh,  and  thus  they  are  a  considerable  object 
of  agricultural  attention,  and  assume  an  important  place  among 
the  other  staples  of  the  farmer. 

HENS,  OR  BARN-BOOR  FOWLS, 

Are  the  most  numerous  and  profitable,  and  the  most  generally 
useful  of  the  feathered  tribe.  The  hen  is  peculiarly  an  egg-pro- 
ducing  bird.    She  has  the  same  predisposition  for  laying,  that  the 


POULTRY. 


487 


cow  has  for  secreting  milk.  Some  breeds  are  better  adapted  for 
this  object  than  others,  but  in  all  that  have  ever  come  within  oui 
notice,  the  proper  food  and  circumstances  are  alone  wanting,  to 
produce  a  reasonable  quantity  of  eggs.  The  egg  consists  of  three 
distinct  parts :  the  shell,  the  white,  and  the  yolk.  A  good-sized 
egg  will  weigh  1,000  grains,  of  which  about  107  are  shell,  604 
are  white,  and  289  are  yolk.  Of  the  shell,  97  per  cent,  is  car- 
bonate of  lime,  1  per  cent,  phosphate  of  lime  and  magnesia,  and 
2  per  cent,  albumen.  The  white  consists  of  12  per  cent,  of  albu- 
men, 2.7  of  mucus,  0.3  of  salts,  and  85  of  water.  The  yolk  has 
about  17.4  per  cent,  of  albumen,  28.6  of  yellow  oil,  54  of  water, 
with  a  trace  of  sulphur  and  phosphorus.  The  above  are  the 
constituents  of  eggs,  which  have  been  formed  when  the  bird  has 
free  access  to  the  various  articles  which  constitute  her  natural 
food.  But  they  vary  with  circumstances.  When  full  fed  and 
denied  all  access  to  hme,  she  will  form  an  egg  without  the  shell, 
and  dehver  it  enclosed  in  the  membrane  or  sack  which  always 
surrounds  the  white,  when  covered  by  the  shell.  When  scantily 
fed,  they  will  frequently  lay ;  but  from  a  deficiency  of  nutriment, 
the  egg  will  be  meagre  and  watery,  and  possess  but  a  small  por- 
tion of  the  nutritious  quahties  peculiar  to  them.  To  produce  the 
largest  number  of  good  eggs,  several  conditions  are  important , 
and  they  must  especially  have  an  abundance  of  the  right  kind  of 
food.  This  is  the  most  readily  obtained  in  part  from  animal  food. 
In  warm  weather,  when  they  have  a  free  range,  they  can  gen 
erally  supply  their  wants  in  the  abundance  of  insects,  earth 
worms,  and  other  animal  matters  within  their  reach.  The  large 
proportion  of  albumen  contained  in  their  eggs,  requires  that  much 
of  their  food  should  be  highly  nitrogenized,  and  when  they  can- 
not procure  this  in  animal  matter,  it  must  be  given  in  grains  con- 
taining it. 

If  to  the  usual  qualities  of  hens,  a  breed  of  pecuHar  elegance, 
of  graceful  forms,  and  beautiful  plumage,  be  added,  together  with 
entire  adaptation  to  the  economical  purposes  required,  good  lay 
ers,  and  good  carcass,  we  have  a  combination  of  utility,  luxury, 


488 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


and  taste  in  this  bird,  which  should  commend  them  as  general 
favorites.  They  can  everywhere  be  kept  with  advantage,  except 
in  dense  cities.  A  hen  that  costs  a  few  shillings,  if  provided 
with  a  suitable  range,  will  consume  fifty  to  eighty  cents'  worth 
of  food,  and  produce  from  one  hundred  to  two  hundred  eggs  per 
annum,  worth  two  or  three  times  the  cost  of  feed  and  attention. 

The  food  of  hens  may  consist  of  different  kinds  of  grain, 
either  broken,  ground,  or  cooked;  roots,  and  especially  boiled 
potatoes,  are  nutritious  and  economical ;  green  herbage,  as  clover 
and  many  of  the  grains,  chickweed,  lettuce,  cabbage,  etc.,  will 
supply  them  with  much  of  their  food,  if  fresh  and  tender.  Though 
not  absolutely  essential  to  them,  yet  nothing  contributes  so  much 
to  their  laying,  as  unsalted,  animal  food.     This  is  a  natural 
alimenfc,  as  is  shown  by  the  avidity  with  which  they  pounce  on 
every  fly,  insect  or  earth  worm  which  comes  within  their  reach. 
It  would  not  of  course  pay  to  supply  them  with  valuable  meat, 
but  the  blood  and  offal  of  the  slaughter  houses,  refuse  meat  of 
all  kinds,  and  especially  the  scraps  or  cracklings  to  be  had  at  the 
melters'  shops,  after  soaking  for  a  few  hours  in  warm  water,  is 
one  of  the  best  and  most  economical  kinds  of  food.    Such,  with 
boiled  meal,  is  a  very  fattening  food.    Grain  is  at  all  times  best 
for  them  when  ground  and  cooked,  as  they  will  lay  more,  fat 
quicker,  and  eat  much  less  when  it  is  fed  to  them  in  this  state; 
and  it  may  be  thus  used  unground,  with  the  same  advantage  to 
the  fowls,  as  if  first  crushed,  as  their  digestive  organs  are  certain 
to  extract  the  whole  nutriment.    All  grain  is  food  for  them, 
including  millet,  rice,  the  oleaginous  seeds,  as  the  sunflower,  flax,' 
hemp,  etc.    It  is  always  better  to  afford  them  a  variety  of  grain, 
where  they  can  procure  them  at  their  option,  and  select  as  their 
appetite  craves. 

They  are  also  fond  of  milk,  and  indeed  scarcely  any  edible 
escapes  their  notice.  They  carefully  pick  up  most  of  the  waste 
garbage  around  the  premises,  and  glean  much  of  their  subsist- 
ence from  what  would  otherwise  become  offensive,  and  by  their 
destruction  of  innumerable  insects  and  worms,  they  render  great 


POULTRY. 


489 


assistance  to  the  gardener.  Of  course  their  ever  busy  propensity 
for  scratching,  is  indiscriminately  indulged  just  after  the  seeds 
have  been  planted  and  while  the  plants  are  young,  which  renders 
it  necessary  that  they  be  confined  in  some  close  yard  for  a  time  ; 
vet  this  should  be  as  capacious  as  possible.  Their  food,  if  cooked, 
is  better  when  given  to  them  warm,  not  hot ;  and  no  more  fed  at 
a  time  than  they  will  pick  up  clean.  Besides  their  food,  hens 
ought  to  be  at  all  times  abundantly  supplied  with  clean  water, 
egg  or  pounded  oyster  shells,  old  mortar  or  slaked  lime.  If  not 
allowed  to  run  at  large,  where  they  can  help  themselves,  they 
must  also  be  furnished  with  gravel  to  assist  their  digestion;  and 
a  box  or  bed  of  ashes,  sand  and  dust,  is  equally  essential  to  roll 
in  for  the  purpose  of  ridding  themselves  of  vermin. 

The  hen-house  may  be  constructed  in  various  ways  to  suit  the 
wishes  of  the  owner,  and  when  tastefully  built,  it  is  an  ornament 
to  the  premises.  It  should  be  perfectly  dry  throughout,  prop- 
erly lighted  by  glass  windows  in  the  roof,  if  possible,  and  capable 
of  being  made  tight  and  warm  in  winter,  yet  afford  all  the  venti- 
lation desirable  at  any  season.  In  this,  arrange  the  nests  in  boxes 
on  the  sides,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  humor  the  instinct  of  the  hen 
for  concealment  when  she  resorts  to  them.  "When  desirable  to 
set  the  hen,  these  nests  may  be  so  placed  as  to  shut  out  the  others, 
yet  open  into  another  yard  or  beyond  the  enclosure,  so  that  they 
can  take  an  occasional  stroll  and  help  themselves  to  food,  etc. 
This  prevents  other  hens  laying  in  their  nests,  while  sitting,  and 
may  be  easily  managed,  by  having  their  boxes  hung  on  the  wall 
of  the  building,  with  a  movable  door  made  to  open  on  either  side 
at  pleasure.  Hens  will  lay  without  a  nest  egg,  but  when  broken 
up,  they  ramble  off  and  form  new  nests,  if  they  are  not  confined. 
They  will  lay  if  kept  from  the  cock,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  they  w411 
thus  yield  as  many  eggs.  Hens  disposed  to  sit  at  improper  times, 
should  be  dismissed  from  the  common  yard,  so  as  to  be  out  of 
reach  of  the  nests,  and  plentifully  fed  till  weaned  from  this  incli- 
nation. 

TJie  chickens  require  to  be  kept  warm  and  dry,  for  the  first  few 

days  after  hatching,  and  they  may  be  fed  with  hard  boiled  eggs, 
2P 


490 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


crumbs  of  bread  or  pudding,  and  milk  or  water,  and  allowed  to 
scratch  in  the  gravel  in  front  of  the  hen,  which  should  be  con- 
fined in  a  coop  for  the  first  three  or  four  weeks,  after  which,  they 
may  be  turned  loose,  when  thej  will  thrive  on  anything  the  older 
ones  eat.  Many  use  them  for  the  table  when  they  are  but  a  few 
weeks  old ;  but  they  are  much  less  valuable  for  this  purpose,  till 
they  have  attained  to  near  or  quite  full  maturity.  The  white- 
legs  are  preferred  by  some,  from  the  whiteness  and  apparent  deli- 
cacy of  the  meat;  but  the  yellow  and  dark-legged  are  good. 
The  color  of  the  feathers  does  not  seem  to  afi'ect  the  quality  of 
the  flesh  or  their  character  for  laying.  If  we  consider  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  absorption  and  retention  of  heat,  we  should  assume 
the  white  coat  to  be  best,  as  it  is  coolest  in  summer  when  exposed 
to  the  sun,  and  warmest  in  winter.  Yet  some  of  the  white  breeds 
are  delicate  and  do  not  bear  rough  usage  or  exposure. 

Varieties. — Aside  from  the  common  dunghill  fowl  which 
embraces  many  differences  in  shape,  size,  color  and  appearance, 
there  are  many  distinct  breeds  which  more  or  less  attract  our 
poultry  fanciers  in  their  choice  of  selection.  These  are  so  numer- 
ous that  our  space  will  permit  no  extended  descriptions,  and  we 
must  refer  the  reader  to  some  of  the  several  treatises  on  poultry 
management  for  particulars,  wherein  they  are  fully  discussed. 
We  may  remark,  however,  that  among  the  leading  breeds,  are 
the  Asiatic  of  several  varieties,  as  the  Bhrama^  Shanghai^  Chit- 
tag  ong ;  the  English  Games  and  Dorkings;  the  Spanish^  Poland^ 
Bantam^  and  many  others ;  and  of  late,  some  of  the  French  varie- 
ties, as  Creve-  Cceur^  La  Fleche^  Houdan^  etc. 

The  late  extraordinary  interest  in  poultry  breeding  and  selec- 
tions which  has  spread  throughout  the  country,  called  in  derision, 
the  poultry  fever,"  has  proved  of  wonderful  benefit  to  the  qual- 
ity of  our  barn-door  fowls,  in  rearing  them  from  a  low  estate  to 
the  highest  grade  of  excellence,  both  in  their  production,  and  . 
edible  qualities,  as  well  as  ornament  to  the  rural  premises. 

The  Diseases  of  hens  are  not  numerous  or  complicated,  and 
may  be  mostly  avoided  by  proper  treatment  and  food,  which  are 
indicated  with  sufficient  minuteness  in  the  foregoing  observations. 


POULTRY. 


491 


Gapes  or  pip  is  generally  owing  to  drinking  unwholesome  or 
dirty  water.  Bemove  the  white  bhster  on  the  tip  of  the  tongue, 
and  wash  with  sharp  vinegar,  diluted  with  warm  water ;  or  com- 
pel the  bird  to  swallow  a  large  lump  of  fresh  butter,  mixed  with 
Scotch  snuff.  It  has  been  removed  by  opening  the  mouth  and 
forcing  a  pigeon  feather,  with  a  tuft  of  the  feather  left  on  the 
end,  the  other  being  stripped  off,  down  the  wind-pipe,  and  gently 
turning  it  as  withdrawn,  to  be  repeated  the  following  day  if 
necessary.  This  detaches  large  numbers  of  slender  red  worms, 
collected  in  the  larynx  of  the  throat,  which  impede  respiration 
and  swallowing.  A  Httle  spirits  of  turpentine  mixed  with  the 
food  is  a  preventive ;  as  are  also  clean,  white-washed  premises, 
and  good  food.  Feed  for  a  few  days  with  hght  food,  soaked 
bran,  and  cabbage  or  lettuce  chopped  fine.  Roup,  Catarrh  or 
swelled  head,  is  shown  by  feverish  symptoms,  swollen  eye-lids, 
(frequently  terminating  in  blindness,)  rattling  in  the  throat,  and 
temporary  strangulation.  These  are  accompanied  by  a  highly 
offensive  watery  discharge  from  the  mouth  and  nostrils,  loss  of 
appetite,  and  much  thirst.  They  should  be  placed  near  the  fire ; 
their  head  bathed  in  warm  Castile  soap-suds,  or  milk  and  water. 
Stimulating  food,  as  flour  or  barley-meal,  mustard  and  grated 
ginger,  mixed  and  forced  down  the  throat,  Boswell  says,  has  been 
effectual  in  their  speedy  restoration.  This,  like  many  other  dis- 
eases, is  contagious,  and  when  it  appears,  the  bird  should  be  at 
once  separated  from  the  flock.  Flux  is  cured  by  the  yolk  of  an  egg 
boiled  hard,  and  boiled  barley  soaked  in  wine  or  cider.  Costiveness 
is  removed  by  giving  bran  and  water  with  a  little  honey ;  or  give 
a  small  dose  of  castor  oil.  Vermin  are  destroyed  by  giving  them 
clean  sand  and  ashes  to  roll  in,  adding  a  little  quicklime  if  neces- 
sary. Crude  kerosene  oil  is  perhaps,  the  best  remedy  for  hce. 
Swabbed  along  the  roosts  and  laying  boxes,  or  on  the  under  feath- 
ers of  the  fowl,  it  has  proved  destructive  to  these  vermin.  Car- 
bolic acid,  or  "heavy  oil,"  (a  distillation  from  gas  tar,)  is  also  an 
effectual  remedy  for  vermin,  apphed  in  the  same  manner.  Entire 
clea7\liness  is  necessary  for  the  avoidance  of  this  and  other  dis- 


4d2 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


eases.  A  perfectly  dry  range  is  also  essential,  nor  should  there 
be  too  many  together,  as  this  is  a  fruitfiil  source  of  disease. 

THE  TURKEY 

Was  unknown,  to  the  civihzed  world  till  the  discovery  of  this 
Continent.  It  was  found  here  both  in  its  wild  and  domesticated 
state,  and  still  occupies  the  whole  range  of  the  Western  Hemi- 
sphere, though  the  wild  turkey  disappears  as  the  country  becomes 
settled.  The  wild  is  about  the  size  of  the  domesticated  bird.  The 
color  of  the  male  is  generally  a  greenish  brown,  approaching  to 
black,  and  of  a  rich,  changeable,  metalhc  lustre.  The  hen  is 
marked  somewhat  like  the  cock,  but  with  duller  hues.  Domesti- 
cation through  successive  generations,  has  changed  the  color  of 
their  plumage,  and  produced  a  variety  of  colors,  black,  buff,  pure 
white,  or  speckled.  They  give  evidence  of  the  comparative 
recency  o^f  their  domestication,  in  the  instinct  which  frequently 
impels  the  cock  to  brood  and  take  care  of  the  young.  Nothing 
is  more  common  than  for  the  male  bird  to  supply  the  place  of  the 
hen,  when  any  accident  befalls  her,  and  bring  up  a  family  of 
young  chicks  with  an  equally  instinctive  regard  for  their  help- 
lessness and  safety.  The  flesh  of  this  bird,  both  wild  and  tame, 
is  exceedingly  dehcate  and  palatable ;  and  though  not  possessing 
the  high  game  flavor  of  some  of  the  smaller  wild  fowl,  and 
especially  of  the  aquatic,  as  the  canvas-back  duck,  etc.,  it  exceeds 
them  in  its  digestibiHty  and  healthfulness.  The  turkey  is  useful 
principally  for  its  flesh,  as  it  seldom  lays  over  a  nest  full  of  eggs 
at  one  clutch,  when  they  brood  on  these  and  bring  up  their 
young.  If  full  fed,  and  their  first  eggs  are  withdrawn  from  them, 
they  frequently  lay  a  second  time.  We  have  had  them  lay 
throughout  the  summer  and  into  late  autumn. 

Breeding. — Those  intended  for  breeders  should  be  compact, 
vigorous  and  large,  without  being  long-legged.  They  should  be 
daily,  yet  lightly  fed  through  the  winter,  on  grain  and  roots,  and 
some  animal  food  is  always  acceptable  and  beneficial  to  them. 
They  are  small  eaters,  and  without  caution  will  soon  get  too  fat. 


POULTRY. 


493 


One  vigorous  male  will  suffice  for  a  flock  of  ten  or  twelve  hens, 
and  a  single  connection  is  sufficient  for  each.  They  begin  to  lay- 
on  the  approach  of  warm  weather,  laying  once  a  day,  or  every 
other  day,  till  they  have  completed  their  clutch,  which  in  the 
young  or  indifferently  fed,  may  be  ten  or  twelve,  and  in  the  older 
ones,  sometimes  reaches  twenty.  The  hen  is  sly  in  secreting  her 
nest,  but  usually  selects  a  dry,  well  protected  place.  She  is  an 
inveterate  sitter,  and  carefully  hatches  most  of  her  eggs.  The 
young  may  be  allowed  to  remain  for  twenty-four  hours  without 
eating,  then  fed  with  hard  boiled  eggs,  made  fine,  or  crumbs  of 
wheat  bread.  Boiled  milk,  curds,  buttermilk,  etc.,  are  food  for 
them.  As  they  get  older,  oat  or  barley  meal  is  suitable,  but 
Indian  meal,  uncooked,  is  hurtful  to  them  when  quite  young. 
They  are  very  tender,  and  will  bear  neither  cold  nor  wet,  and  it 
is  of  course  necessary  to  confine  the  old  one  for  the  first  few 
weeks.  When  able  to  shift  for  themselves,  they  may  wander 
over  the  fields  at  pleasure;  and  from  their  great  fondness  for 
insects,  they  will  rid  the  meadows  of  innumerable  grasshoppers, 
etc.,  which  ofi;en  do  incalculable  damage  to  the  farmer.  Early 
chickens  are  sufficiently  grown  to  fatten  the  latter  part  of  autumn 
or  the  beginning  of  winter,  which  is  easily  done  on  any  of  the 
grains  or  boiled  roots.  The  grain  is  better  for  cooking.  They 
require  a  higher  roosting  place  than  hens,  and  are  impatient  of  too 
close  confinement,  preferring  the  ridge  of  a  barn,  or  a  lofty  tree, 
to  the  circumscribed  limits  of  the  ordinary  poultry  house.  When 
rightly  managed  and  fed,  turkeys  are  subject  to  few  maladies, 
•and  even  these,  careful  attention  will  soon  remove. 

THE  PEACOCK  AND  GUINEA  HEN. 

The  peacock  is  undoubtedly  the  most  showy  of  the  feathered 
race.    It  is  a  native  of  the  southern  part  of  Asia,  and  is  still 
found  wild  in  the  islands  of  Java  and  Ceylon,  and  some  parts  of 
the  interior  of  Africa.    They  are  an  ornament  to  the  farm  prem 
ises,  and  are  useful  in  destroying  reptiles,  insects  and  garbage, 


49'4 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


but  thej  are  quarrelsome  in  the  poultry  yard  and  destructive  in 
the  garden.  Their  flesh  is  coarse  and  dark,  and  they  are  worth- 
less as  layers.  The  brilHant  silvery  green,  and  their  ever- varying 
colors  give  place  to  an  entire  white  in  one  of  the  varieties.' 

The  Guinea  hen  is  a  native  of  Africa  and  the  southern  part  of 
Asia,  where  it  abounds  in  its  wild  state.  Most  of  them  are 
beautifully  and  uniformly  speckled,  but  occasionally  they  are 
white  on  the  breast,  Hke  the  Pintados  of  the  West  India  Islands, 
and  some  are  entirely  white.  They  are  unceasingly  garrulous, 
and  their  excessively  pugnacious  character  renders  them  uncom- 
fortable inmates  with  the  other  poultry.  Their  flesh,  though 
high  colored,  is  delicate  and  palatable,  but,  like  the  peacock,  they 
are  indifferent  layers.  Both  are  natives  of  a  warm  chmate,  and 
the  young  are  tender  and  rather  difficult  to  rear.  Neither  of 
these  birds  are  general  favorites,  and  we  omit  further  notice  of 
them. 

THE  GOOSE. 

There  are  many  varieties  of  the  goose.    Main  enumerates 
twenty -two,  most  of  which  are  wild;  and  the  tame  are  again 
variously  subdivided.    The  common  white  and  gray  are  the  most 
numerous  and  profitable.    The  white  Bremen  is  much  larger,  often 
weighing  over  twenty  pounds  net.    It  is"  of  a  beautiful  snowy 
plumage,  is  domestic  and  reared  without  difficulty,  though  not  as 
proHfic  and  hardy  as  the  former.    The  China  goose  is  smaller  than 
the  gray,  and  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  family,  possessing 
much  of  the  gracefulness  and  general  appearance  of  the  swan; 
There  are  three  varieties  of  these  in  the  United  States :  the  small 
brown,  with  black  bill  andjegs;  the  larger  gray,  with  black  bill 
and  reddish  legs;  and  the  pure  white,  with  orange  bill  and  legs. 
It  is  prolific  and  tolerably  hardy,  but  has  not  thus  far  been  a 
successful  rival  with  the  first.    The  Guinea  or  African  goose  is 
the  largest  of  the  species.   It  is  a  majestic  and  graceful  bird,  and 
very  ornamental  to  water  scenery.    Several  other  varieties  are 


POULTRY. 


495 


domesticated  in  the  United  States.  The  finest  goshngs  for  the 
table  we  have  ever  reared,  or  seen,  were  a  cross  from  the  China 
gander  and  common  gray  goose.  They  are  very  hardy  and  easy 
to  raise. 

Breeding. — Geese  pair  frequently  at  one  year  old,  and  rear 
their  young;  but  with  some  kinds,  especially  of  the  wild,  this  is 
deferred  till  two  and  sometimes  three.  They  require  a  warm, 
dry  place  for  their  nests,  and  when  undisturbed  they  will  sit 
steadily,  and  if  the  eggs  have  not  been  previously  chilled  or 
addled,  they  will  generally  hatch  them  all,  if  kept  on  the  nest. 
To  insure  this,  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  withdraw  the  first 
hatched,  to  prevent  the  old  ones  wandering  before  all  are  out. 
They  should  be  kept  in  a  warm,  sheltered  place,  till  two  or  three 
weeks  old,  if  the  weather  be  cold  or  unsettled.  The  best  food 
for  the  goslings  is  barley  or  oat,  or  Indian  meal  boiled,  and  bread. 
Milk  is  also  good  for  them.  They  require  green  food,  and  are 
fond  of  lettuce,  young  clover,  and  fresh  tender  grass,  and  after  a 
few  weeks,  if  they  have  a  free  range  on  this,  they  will  forage  for 
themselves.  Geese  are  not  a  profitable  bird  to  raise,  unless  in 
places  where  they  can  procure  their  own  subsistence,  or  at  least 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  year.  This  they  are  enabled  to 
do  wherever  there  are  extensive  commons  of  unpastured  lands, 
or  where  there  are  streams  or  ponds,  lakes  or  marshes,  with  shoal, 
sedgy  banks.  In  these  they  will  hve  and  fatten  throughout  the 
year,  if  unobstructed  by  ice  and  snow. 

They  may  be  fattened  on  all^kinds  of  grain  and  edible  roots, 
but  it  is  more  economical  to  give  them  their  food  cooked.  The 
well-fattened  gosling  affords  one  of  the  most  savory  dishes  for  the 
table.  Geese  live  to  a  great  age.  They  have  been  known  to 
exceed  forty  years.  "When  allowed  a  free  range  on  good  food 
and  clean  water,  they  will  seldom  get  diseased.  When  well  fed, 
they  yield  nearly  a  pound  of  good  feathers  in  a  season,  at  three 
or  four  pluckings,  and  the  largest  varieties  even  exceed  this.  But 
plucking  is  a  cruel  business,  and  should  not  be  done  closely,  and 
only  between  the  months  of  May  and  October.    Goshngs  in- 


AMERICAN  AGEICULTUKE. 

tended  for  eating  should  not  be  plucked  at  all  until  fatted  and 
killed. 

DUCKS 

Are  more  hardj  and  independent  of  attention  tnan  the  goose 
and  they  are  generally  the  most  profitable.    They  are  omnivorous 
and  greedily  devour  everything  which  will  afford  them  nourish- 
ment, though  they  seldom  forage  on  the  grasses,  like  the  goose 
when  they  can  procure  other  food.    They  are  peculiarly  carniv- 
orous,  and  devour  all  kinds  of  meat,  putrid  or  fresh,  and  are 
especially  fond  of  fish  and  such  insects,  worms,  etc.,  as  they  can 
find  imbedded  in  the  mud  or  elsewhere.    They  wiU  often  distend 
their  crop  with  young  frogs,  almost  to  the  ordinary  size  of  their 
bodies.    Their  indiscriminate  appetites  often  render  them  unfit 
for  the  table,  unless  fattened  out  of  the  reach  of  garbage  and 
ofFensive  matters.    An  English  admiral  used  to  resort  to  well- 
fattened  rats  for  his  fresh  meat,  when  at  sea,  and  justified  his 
taste  by  saying  they  were  more  cleanly  feeders  than  ducks,  which 
were  general  favorites. 

The  tabieties  of  ducks  are  almost  innumerable.  Main 
describes  thirty-one,  and  some  naturalists  number  many  more 
The  most  profitable  for  domestic  use,  aside  from  the  common  one 
are  the  Uach  Cayuga,  the  Ayleslury,  and  Rouen,  all  being  of 
much  larger  size,  and  richer  and  more  dehcate  flavor  of  flesh 
They  lay  prgfusely  in  the  spring,  when  well  fed,  often  producing 
forty  or  fifty  eggs,  and  sometimes  a  greater  number,  if  kept 
from  sitting.    They  are  much  larger  than  those  of  the  hen  and 
equally  rich  and  nourishinff,  but  less  delicate.    They  are  careless 
in  their  habits,  and  generally  drop  their  eggs  wherever  they  hap- 
pen  to  be  through  the  night,  whether  in  the  water,  the  road  or 
farm-yard;  and,  as  might  be  expected  from  such  prodigahty  of 
character,  they  are  indiff-erent  sitters  and  nurses.    The  ducklings 
are  better  reared  by  sitting  the  eggs  under  a  sedate,  experienced 
hen,  as  the  longer  time  necessary  for  hatching  requires  patience 
in  the  foster-mother  to  develop  the  young  chick.    They  should 


POULTKY. 


497 


be  confined  for  a  few  days,  and  away  from  the  water.  At  first 
they  may  be  fed  with  bread,  or  pudding  made  from  boiled  oat, 
barley,  or  Indian  meal ;  and  they  soon  acquire  strength  and  enter- 
prise enough  to  shift  for  themselves,  if  afterwards  supplied  with 
pond  or  river  water.  They  are  fit  for  the  table  when  fully  grown, 
and  well  fattened  on  clean  grain.  This  is  more  economically 
accomphshed  by  feeding  it  cooked.  We  omit  further  notice  of 
other  varieties,  and  of  the  swan,  brant,  pigeons,  etc.,  as  not 
profitable  for  general  rearing,  and  only  suited  to  ornamental 
grounds.  • 

HONEY  BEES. 

Every  farmer,  when  favorably  situated,  should  keep  these  useful 
insects.  "When  successfully  bred,  they  are  very  profitable,  as 
they  obtain  their  own  living  and  provide  stores  of  surplus  honey, 
with  only  a  reasonable  care.  To  those  who  adopt  their  cultiva- 
tion, we  can  do  no  better  than  refer  them  to  some  one  of  the 
numerous  treatises  with  which  our  bookstores  abound,  for  learning 
all  that  may  be  required  about  them. 


CHAPTER  XXII 


DISEASES  OF  ANIMALS. 

Thesb  are  so  ramified  in  their  extent,  so  various  in  their 
influences,  in  many  cases  so  intricate  in  their  natures,  and  so 
difficult  in  treatment,  as  to  induce  even  the  most  learned  in  phys- 
iological and  medical  science  to  ponder  doubtfully  before  venturing 
on  any  settled  rules  of  practice. 

Books  of  farriery  and  veterinary  treatment  of  farm  stock  have 
been  written,  almost  without  number,  and  in  many  instances  by 
men  of  ability  and  undoubted  attainments ;  but  so  different  were 
their  judgments  of  the  kinds  of  disease  under  discussion,  and  their 
treatment  of  them,  that  on  searching  their  different  authorities 
and  finding  the  extreme  variance  of  their  prescriptions  and  prac- 
tice, one  hardly  knows  what  to  think,  what  to  do,  or,  in  fact, 
whether  he  shall  put  any  faith  at  all  in  either  one  or  the  other. 
V^eterinary  schools  have  abounded,  they  now  abound — of  one 
sort  or  another — ^but  many  sound,  practical  horse  and  other  stock 
owners  avoid  them,  so  chary  are  they  of  their  prescriptions  and 
treatment  of  even  common  diseases.  Surgery  is  another  matter, 
both  scientific  and  mechanical,  and  may  be  practiced  on  the  lower 
order  of  animals  by  almost  any  one  skillful  in  his  treatment  of 
human  anatomy  and  giving  a  moderate  study  to  brute  conform- 
ation. 

"We  might  name  a  score  of  authorities,  of  different  nationalities, 
of  reputable  attainments  and  approved  practice  at  home,  yet  dis- 
carded elsewhere,  and  not  acknowledged  as  sound  in  either  theory, 
prescription,  or  practice.  Doubtless,  cHmate,  food  and  the  ordinary 
treatment  of  the  animals,  had  much  to  do  with  the  rules  and 


DISEASES  OP  ANIMALS. 


499 


practices  of  the  veterinarians  in  the  locahties  and  countries  where 
thej  worked.  "What  would  do  or  be  successful  in  France,  Hol- 
land, or  Germany,  would  not  answer  in  Great  Britain;  and  what 
would  be- good  practice  in  the  latter  country,  would  illy  succeed 
in  the  other  localities;  so  on  this  side  the  ocean,  with  our  different 
climates,  foods  and  usage,  neither  of  those  foreign  practices  would 
answer  with  us.  "We  have  but  a  limited  veterinary  authority 
and  practice  in  America.  Our  schools  of  the  kind  are  few,  and 
those  not  always  confided  in,  and  yet  in  every  city,  village  and 
rural  neighborhood  are  found  more  or  less  self-constituted  horse 
and  cattle  doctors. 

We  touch  the  subject  with  diffidence  in  our  ability  to  select 
from  the  mass  of  material  before  us,  what  to  recommend,  or  what 
to  withhold  in  the  medical  treatment  of  our  various  farm  stock, 
knowing,  as  we  do,  the  different  opinions  of  even  sound  cattle 
pathologists,  physiologists  and  practitioners.^  Our  treatment  of 
cattle  disorders,  (and  by  the  term,  cattle,  we  include  all  farm 
stock,)  should  be  American  treatment;  that  is  to  say,  a  treatment 
found  to  be  successful  on  our  soils  and  in  our  chmates  generally, 
by  those  who  have  given  the  various  diseases  to  which  they  are, 
or  have  been  subject,  deliberate  study  and  practice — not  empiri- 
cism, or  quackery,  for  of  these  latter  every  neighborhood  has  its 
supply,  and  too  frequently  of  deleterious  influence. 
^ .  After  saying  this  much,  our  sagacious  reader  may  conclude  we 
had  better  say  nothing  at  all.  Perhaps  so.  But  our  work,  after 
treating  of  domestic  animals  as  we  have,  would  not  be  complete 
without  alluding  to  the  subject,  or  laying  down  some  rules  of 
practice,  general  in  their  nature  and  effect,  at  least,  as  well  as 
somewhat  in  particular  for  the  common  diseases  to  which  our 
stock  are  or  may  be  subject.  This  we  shall  endeavor  to  do;  but 
not  until  we  have  first  suggested  to  all  who  have  the  welfare  of 
their  stock  at  heart,  the  greatest  of  all  considerations :  that  of 
prevention  of  disease  and  accident  in  the  whole  routine  of  usage 
of  the  animals  under  their  charge. 

Prevention  of  Diseases  and  Accidents. — For  the  safety 
of  his  animals,  and  their  successful  well-doing,  care  in  handling, 


500 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


feeding,  watering,  exercise,  work,  land  stabling  is  of  the  highest 
importance.  For  this  purpose,  every  preparation  for  the  keeping 
and  accommodation  of  the  stock  should,  if  possible,  first  be  made. 
If  all  these  cannot  be  complete,  they  should  be  as  near  to  it  as 
circumstances  will  admit.  The  golden  rule  in  this  category  should 
be:  *'The  merciful  man  is  merciful  to  his  beast,"  in  all  things, 
which  includes  all  of  precaution  and  .care  for  the  welfare  of  the 
stock  within  his  range.  We  have  known  farmers  who,  during 
a  score  of  years,  had  scarcely  a  sick  or  ailing  creature  on  their 
place.  We  have  known  others  with  some  one  or  other  contin- 
ually ailing,  maimed,  or  sick;  ever  losing  them  by  death,  and 
always  deprecating  their  miserable  "luck"  in  stock.  To  one 
intimately  acquainted  with  the  different  parties  and  their  man- 
agement, the  solution  of  their  varied  fortunes  would  be  easy. 
The  first  were  pains  taking,  careful  husbandmen,  using  foresight 
and  judgment.  Th^  others  were  neglectful,  heedless,  paying  little 
attention  to  their  animals ;  careless  in  their  feed,  water,  treatment, 
or  shelter;  their  fences  poor,  with  every  facility  offering  for  mis- 
haps and  accidents.  It  is  needless  to  go  into  particulars,  as  every 
one  having  the  means  to  grow,  or  keep  stock  at  all,  can  readily 
understand  what  ordinary  good  care  means,  and  can,  if  he  have 
the  disposition,  practice  it. 

What  Authority  shall  we  Adopt? — If  all  the  receipts, 
nostrums  and  remedies  which  we  have  seen  recommended  and 
printed  in  agricultural  papers  and  other  publications — and  many 
of  them,  no  doubt,  good  and  successful  in  the  experience  of  those 
who  have  urged  and  practiced  them — were  gathered  and  recorded, 
we  could  fill  a  scrap-book  of  voluminous  size ;  but  as  our  space 
will  limit  us  to  a  few,  and  most  common  only,  of  the  various  ail- 
ments and  diseases  to  which  our  animals  are  subject,  -we  shall 
resort  to  that  one  which,  after  all  our  researches,  has  met  with 
a  good  share  of  popular  approbation.  We  say,  however,  at  the 
threshold,  that  every  stock  breeder,  and  keeper  of  farm  stock  of 
any  kind,  should  provide  himself  with  some  competent  authority 
m  the  way  of  a  book  or  treatise,  (and  of  that  authority  himself, 


DISEASES  OF  ANIMALS. 


501 


or  some  experienced  man  in  whom  he  has  confidence,  should  be 
the  judge,)  and  have  it  always  at  hand  for  instruction,  when  a 
practitioner  in  the  line  is  not  at  hand,  which  latter,  we  regret  to 
saj,  is  seldom  readily  found  in  many  localities  of  our  wide-spread 
community. 

There  are  partisans  in  veterinary  treatment^  as  well  as  of  the 
human  system.  Allopathy,  homeopathy,  and  hydropathy  each 
have  their  advocates  and  practitioners,  and  perhaps  with  about 
equal  success,  while  it  may  be  truthfully  said,J;hose  who  give  the 
least  medicine  and  permit  nature  to  mainly  work  its  own  cures, 
succeed  equally  well,  if  not  better  than  most  others.  In  our 
practical  experience  of  more  than  thirty  years  of  stock  husbandry,  • 
in  which  horses,  neat  cattle,  sheep  and  swine  have  been  consid- 
erably kept,  prevention  of  disease  and  accident,  through  careful 
attention  to  them,  has  been  our  chief  study;  and  when  medicine 
was  resorted  to,  that  of  the  simplest  kind  has  been  used.  Leeches, 
quacks,  and  doctors"  of  various  degree  have  importuned  and 
assailed  us,  to  whom  we  have  paid  little  attention,  and  our  success 
has  compared  most  favorably  with  those  whose  animals  have  been 
attended  by  ''professed"  practitioners  in  the  line  of  medicaments. 
We  have  seldom  lost  an  animal  where  preventive  care  has  been 
bestowed,  or  timely  mild  medical  treatment  has  been  adopted. 
Nature  itself,  aided  by  kindly  stimulants,  has  been  our  chief 
reliance  for  recovery.  Blood-letting,  after  the  old  fashion,  violent 
purgations — which,  however,  in  some  acute  inflammatory  disor- 
ders or  attacks,  may  sometimes  be  resorted  to — have  not  been 
registered  in  our  list  of  ordinary  remedies.  "Within  the  last  fifty, 
even  thirty  years,  veterinary  practice  has  largely  changed  from 
the  old  way,  and,  we  think,  much  for  the  better.  In  our  boyhood 
days,  almost  every  farmer  carried  a  case  of  "phlemes"  in  his 
pocket,  or,  wanting  that  blood-letting  instrument,  his  jack-knife 
became  the  substitute,  while  his  home  cupboard  contained  more 
or  less  bottles  of  the  vilest  drugs,  with  which  to  retch  and  distress 
the  viscera  of  his  poor  suffering  brutes.  These,  in  most  instances, 
are  happily  done  away  with,  or  so  modified  in  their  use  as  to  only 


502 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE, 


be  of  occasional  resort,  while  milder  remedies  have  taken  their 
places. 

To  conclude  the  matter,  after  looking  over  most  of  the  author- 
ities in  cattle  diseases,  we  beheve  *'Dadd's  American  Cattle 
Doctor"  to  be  a  good  work.  Some  of  our  readers  may  prefer 
another.  But  we  earnestly  recommend  all  cattle  keepers  to  pos- 
sess themselves  of  some  competent  author,  to  study  him  closely  ; 
and  that,  with  his  own  earnest  study  of  the  condition  of  his 
stock,  will  aid  him  best  in  the  welfare  of  his  herd. 

DISEASES  OF  SHEEP. 

If  properly  attended,  sheep  have  few  disorders.  Dry  grounds, 
sufficient  food  and  water,  salt  every  week  or  ten  days,  a  reason- 
able guard  against  accidents,  and  shelter  during  inclement  seasons, 
will  usually  carry  the  flock-master,  with  either  small  or  large 
numbers,  through  the  year  safely.  There  are,  however,  diseases 
which  more  or  less  infest  our  flocks,  and  should  be  cured  if  pos- 
sible, as  they  occur.  We  again  refer  to  Dadd,  for  the  informa- 
tion which  our  own  experience  does  not  supply. 

DISEASES  OF  SWINE. 

Dadd  also  treats  of  their  disorders  in  his  "Cattle  Doctor"  as 
with  cattle  and  sheep. 

In  the  treatment  of  all  these  different  animals,  the  same  caro 
in  keeping  and  feeding,  and  precautions  against  disease,  should 
be  adopted  as  with  cattle  or  horses.  Our  running  remarks,  when 
treating  of  the  varieties  of  stock,  will  sufficiently  explain  the 
necessity  of  pains-taking  with  every  living,  useful  thing  apper- 
taining to  the  success  of  the  farmer.  He  must  have  brains  of  his 
own,  and  use  them. 

TREATMENT  AND  BREEDING  OF  HORSES. 

Taken  in  their  whole  range  of  detail,  horse  ailmgs  ar^^,  almost 
innumerable;  and  to  treat  of  them,  as  they  run,  an  entire  vol- 
ume would  be  necessary  for  their  enumeration  and  management. 


DISEASES  OF  ANIMALS. 


503 


Dadd,  whom  we  think  is  as  sensible  and  practical  an  American 
authority  as  we  have —although  there  are  others  which  may  be 
entitled  to  equal  confidence —enumerates  and  treats  of  more 
than  one  hundred  and  fifty  ailments,  disorders,  and  diseases  of 
the  body,  bowels,  bones,  skin,  and  other  organs  belonging  to  the 
horse,  comprised  in  a  compact  volume  of  more  than  four  hundred 
pages  of  the  size  of  this  work.  It  would  be  altogether  impossi- 
ble, therefore,  to  give,  within  the  limited  space  at  our  command, 
any  but  the  faintest  allusion  even  to  the  most  important  of  them, 
besides  being  foreign  to  the  main  purposes  of  this  work. 

We  can  do  no  better,  then,  than  commend  the  reader  at  once 
to  the  possession— if  he  have  it  not  already— of  some  one  of  the 
approved  American  authorities  for  such  instruction  as  may  be 
necessary  in  his -treatment  of  the  several  horse  ailments  and  dis- 
orders which  may  attend  his  stock. 

There  are  a  few  simple  suggestions,  however,  which  we  ven- 
ture to  make  to  all  horse  breeders,  keepers,  and  workers,  which, 
if  well  attended  to,  will  guard  against  most  of  the  diseases,  acci- 
dents and  misfortunes  in  their  management.  The  horse  is  a 
noble,  generous,  spirited  animal,  the  most  useful  in  his  service  of 
any  creature  which  assists  us  in  his  out  of  door  labor,  and  grati- 
fies our  pride  and  pleasure  in  his  use.  He  is  intelhgent,  kind, 
affectionate  to  his  keeper,  patient  in  labor,  enduring  in,  effort,  and 
almost  always,  under  kindly  treatment,  submissive  to  the  will  of 
his  master.  In  ninety-nine  cases  of  a  hundred,  where  he  fails  to 
be  all  these,  the  blame  is  not  in  the  horse,  but  in  the  wrong  treat- 
ment which,  at  some  age  or  other,  he  has  received  from  those 
who  have  handled  him. 

The  first  law  which  should  govern  all  who  have  to  do  with 
horses,  from  their  birth  forward,  is  the  law  of  kindness  ;  and 
no  law  is  so  often  violated  as  in  the  want  of  judgment,  des'cend- 
ing  many  times  into  brutality,  in  the  usage  of  this  noble  animal. 
Most  people,  we  trust,  use  them  well;  but  many,  we  know,  are 
guilty  of  the  most  inhuman  treatment  of  their  generous  natures, 
and  if  there  be  a  sin  to  be  accounted  for  towards  one  of  God's 


504 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


most  useful  bounties  to  humanity,  that  of  ill  usage  to  horse  flesh 

must  be  reckoned  one  of  the  most  glaring. 

Among  the  rules  which  should  govern  the  breeder,  or  farmer, 

in  his  management,  should  be  the  following: 

1st.    Make  the  young  foal  gentle,  in  handling.    Let  it  be  well 

nursed  till  weaning,  which  may  take  place  at  four  or  five  months 

old.    If  the  dam  be  worked,  let  that  work  not  be  too  severe,  and 

do  not  let  the  foal  nurse  when  she  is  heated  with  uncommon 

exercise  or  labor. 

2d.    Feed  it  plentifully  on  good  grass  till  the  grass  season  is 

past,  and  then  on  good  fodder,  such  as  it  will  eat,  and  keep  it 
growing  in  good  condition.  Halter-break  it  the  first  winter,  if 
possible,  and  learn  it  to  lead.  Continue  to  feed  well  on  grass 
and  hay,  as  the  seasons  occur,  until  three  years  old,  when  it 
should  be  broken  to  the  harness,  or  saddle,  as  the  horse  is  afi:er- 
wards  intended  to  be  used. 

3d.  Let  the  first  labors  be  light  and  easy,  for  the  young  horse 
is  still  growing,  and  severe  labor  will  injure  both  growth  and 
constitution,  which  will  soon  be  felt;  and  if  persevered  in,  he 
will  not  last  half  his  allotted  years,  nor  in  those  years  perform 
near  his  full  amount  of  labor. 

4th.  Let  his  food  always  be  good,  wholesome,  and  nutritious, 
his  times  of  feeding  and  watering  regular,  his  shelter  warm,  well 
ventilated,  and  the  floor,  (which  should  be  of  wooden  planks, 
rather  than  of  earth,  brick  or  stone,)  on  which  he  stands,  kept 
clean.  This  latter  item  is  of  great  importance,  as  guarding  against 
the  pungent  ammonia  which  escapes  from  the  accumulated  dung 
and  urine  deposited,  causing  weakness  to  the  eyes,  and  a  foetid 
atmosphere  most  deleterious  to  his  health.  (We  some  years  ago 
had  occasion  to  use  a  stable  for  the  winter,  belonging  to  a  farmer 
— and  he  called  himself  a  good  one — in  which  he  had  kept  his 
horses  for  some  months  previous.  On  taking  possession  of  it, 
we  found  piles  of  manure  a  foot  to  eighteen  inches  thick  in  the 
rear  part  of  the  stalls  on  which  the  hind  feet  of  his  horses  had 
stood,  raising  them  to  that  elevation  above  the  fore  feet.  The 


DISEASES  OF  ANIMALS. 


505  * 


piles  steamed  with  heated  ammonia,  and  so  hot  that  one  could 
hardly  bear  his  hand  on  them.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that 
we  had  them  cleared  out  before  using,  and  on  remonstrating  with 
the  owner,  he  hstlessly  answered,  that  such  was  his  regular  prac- 
tice until  spring,  and  that  it  was  also  the  general  custom  of  his 
neighbors.  It  was  too  much  work  to  clean  them  every  day!" 
Blindness,  foot  fever,  swellings,  and  "scratches"  of  course,  were 
frequent  occurrences  with  their  horses.) 

5th.  Let  the  horses,  when  worked,  be  thoroughly  rubbed 
down  and  cleaned  after  taking  off  their  harness,  well  bedded, 
cooled  before  they  are  fed  with  grain,  or  watered ;  and  well  fed 
and  watered  in  the  morning  before  put  at  work. 

6th.  When  worked,  they  should  not  be  over-driven.  If  the 
horse  be  naturally  slow,  do  not  urge  him  beyond  his  natural  gait, 
and  never  match  a  dull  horse  with  a  hvely  one,  or  a  slow  horse 
with  a  fast  one.  They  can  never  work  evenly  together,  and  one 
or  the  other  must  suffer  from  the  inequahty  of  gait,  draught,  and 
action. 

7th.  Never  overload  the  team,  nor  discourage  them  by  a  too 
heavy  pull  on  first  starting;  nor  start  from  a  bad  place,  but  let 
the  load  be  on  a  level  and  hard  bottom.  A  single  horse,  or  a 
pair,  will  draw  more  and  easier  after  getting  warmed  up  to  their 
work,  than  when  first  starting.  Never  draw  the  check-rein  tight 
in  heavy  pulling,  nor  in  a  fast  gait. 

8th.  Always  keep  clean  wood  ashes,  pulverized  charcoal,  salt, 
rosin,  sulphur,  epsom  or  glauber  salts  at  hand,  to  be  administered 
for  slight  ailments;  and  in  dosing,  when  necessary,  administer  the 
dose  through  a  cattle  horn  placed  in  the  mouth,  and  not  by  a  glass 
bottle,  as  the  latter  may  break,  and  bits  of  glass  get  into  the 
throat  and  stomach  of  the  beast. 

Keep,  also,  liniments  of  a  mild  unctuous  nature,  at  hand  to 
apply  to  bruises,  wounds,  swelled  legs,  or  other  casualties  to  the 
flesh  or  limbs.  Carbohc  acid  is  said  by  chemists  to  be  one  of  the 
best,  as  it  is  one  of  the  cheapest  of  the  kind. 

9th.  If  horses,  when  turned  to  pasture,  are  inclined  to  jump 
fences  or  become  breachy,  have  the  fences  good,  and  if  that  will 
'  22- 


506 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


not  secure  them,  do  not  put  pokes  on  "their  necks,  but  take  a 
leather  strap,  with  a  buckle  at  one  end,  and  holes  in  the  other, 
(a  heavy  hame  strap  will  answer  the  purpose,)  and  secure  a 
smooth  wooden  clog  of  a  dozen  or  twenty  pounds  weight,  accord- 
ing to  the  size  of  the  horse,  to  one  of  the  forelegs  at  the  fetlock. 
Let  the  end  of  the  clog  where  the  strap  is  fastened,  have  a  hole 
for  it,  and  be  rounded  off.  It  will  not  hinder  their  feeding,  but 
keep  them  within  bounds,  and  make  them  easy  to  catch.  In  our 
own  practice  of  many  years,  we  have  tried  almost  all  devices, 
and  find  this  the  simplest  and  most  effective. 

DISEASES  OF  HORSES. 

When  a  horse  is  found  ailing,  examine  him  thoroughly, 
and  consult  your  book — which  you  should  never  be  without — 
and  if,  in  your  own  judgment  you  can  relieve  him  by  a  mild  dose 
of  medicine,  do  so,  and  he  will  in  most  cases  recover  soon,  or  be 
relieved,  when  rest  and  careful  feeding  will  soon  restore  him. 
But  if  the  case  be  an  inflammatory,  or  violent  . one,  and  yourself 
be  not  competent  to  its  mastery,  apply  at  once  to  an  experienced 
farrier^  or  veterinarian^  if  such  an  one  can  be  found.  There  are 
always,  in  almost  every  neighborhood,  more  or  less  horse  doc- 
tors," empirics,  quacks,  and  pretenders,  professing  everything, 
and  knowing  nothing,  in  reality,  about  acute  diseases.  They 
more  frequently  kill  than  cure,  being  neither  chemists,  physiolo- 
gists, nor  intelligent  practitioners,  in  animal  diseases.  Do  not 
employ  them. 

After  all,  ailments  and  diseases,  in  a  great  majority  of  cases, 
originate  from  bad  treatment  or  neglect,  and  if  the  rules  which 
we  have  enumerated  are  properly  regarded,  ailments  will  seldom 
occur,  and  then  of  so  trivial  kind  as  to  be  easily  managed.  In  a 
forty  years'  experience  with  a  great  many  horses,  in  all  kinds  of 
labor,  we  have  never  lost  but  two,  and  that  by  violent  wind 
coHc,  which  we  traced  to  gross  neglect  on  the  part  of  our  team- 
sters. Heaves,  spavins,  blindness,  broken  wind,  and  most  of  the 
disorders  so  common  with  work-horses,  can  usually  be  traced  to 
improper  usage,  neglect,  or  abuse. 


DISEASES  OF  ANIMALS. 


507 


Sometimes  infectious  or  contagious  diseases  will  occur  out  of 
the  common  line,  and  not  always  to  be  guarded  against  by  even 
pains-taking  men;  but  with  proper  precaution,  even  these,  in 
many  cases,  may  be  avoided  by  keeping  their  animals  from  con- 
tact or  exposure  with  diseased  ones.  Too  much  caution  cannot 
be  used  when  such  exposures  are  imminent.  * 

With  these  general  retnarks,  we  dismiss  the  subject,  only 
repeating  the  advice  to  have  a  good  treatise  on  horse  diseases 
always  at  hand. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 


COIS^CLUSION.    GENEKAL  KEMAEKS. 

In  concluding  our  work,  we  cannot  well  let  it  go  to  the  reader 
without  remarking  somewhat  on  the  husiness  of  agriculture  as  a 
permanent  occupation,  in  which  the  whole  mind  and  abihty  of 
the  farmer  is  engaged. 

To  the  successful  farmer,  it  is  his  only  proper  occupation — his 
engrossing  business,  above  all  other.  By  it  he  earns  his  living 
and  rears  his  family.  His  associations,  his  interests,  and  his 
affections,  cluster  about  his  farm,  his  stock,  his  crops,  his  home. 
His  social  relations,  his  domestic  sympathies  are  all  there.  His 
farm  is  his  little  world,  and  over  it  he  reigns  supreme,  caUing  no 
man  master.  If  his  affairs  are  properly  conducted,  he  is  inde- 
pendent— so  far  as  any  man  can  be  in  civilized  society.  It  is 
therefore  necessary  that  he  attend  to  his  farm,  that  it  be  his 
only,  or  at  all  events,  chief  business  and  occupation;  and  that 
all  other  concerns  in  which  he  may  engage,  should  be  secondary, 
or  subsidiary  to  that. 

Look  at  all  the  other  professions  and  occupations  in  life,  and 
see  how  they  are  conducted  by  those  who  follow  them. 

The  clergyman  studies  his  theology,  and  labors  "in  season, 
and  out  of  season,"  for  the  welfare  of  his  people,  and  the  care  of 
their  souls. 

The  lawyer  is  devoted  to  his  profession,  solely ;  and  frequently, 
through  the  course  of  a  long  and  laborious  life,  knows  little  out- 
side of  it ;  except,  happily,  indulging  his  leisure  hours  in  cultivat- 
ing the  graces  of  society,  or  recreating  in  some  chosen  path  of 
study  or  exercises  outside,  to  which  his  tastes  invite  hinr.  The 
physician  does  the  same.    The  merchant,  the  manufacturer,  the 


GENERAL  REMARKS. 


509 


artisan,  the  chemist,  the  miner,  pursue  the  Hues  of  labor  embraced 
in  their  professions,  industriously,  studiously,  laboriously;  and. 
in  each  they  excel  and  prosper,  in  proportion  to  their  diligence 
and  intelHgence,  gaining  fame,  fortune,  or  whatever  other  great 
object  each  has  striven  from  the  beginning  to  attain. 

The  farmer  should  do  likewise.  His  is  not  a  business  to  be 
delegated  to  others,  any  more  than  either  of  the  professions,  or  the 
pursuits  which  we  have  named ;  nor  can  it  be  thrown  off  upon 
clerks  and  journeymen. 

He  that  by  the  plow  would  thrive, 

Himself  must  either  hold  or  drive." 

In  this  adage  hes  a  volume  of  wisdom.  The  farmer  must  not 
only  be  industrious,  but  studious.  His  mind,  his  thoughts  must 
be  in  his  business.  His  family  must  also  be  industrious  and 
studious.  It  is  true  that  modern  inventions,  which  have  greatly 
alleviated  the  labors  of  not  only  himself,  but  his  family,  have  per- 
mitted him,  and  them,  much  more  leisure  than  their  ancestors 
enjoyed,  as  well  as  other  pleasures  and  luxuries ;  but  after  all,  the 
farm,  the  crops,  the  stock,  and  household  economy,  should  be  his 
and  their  chief  occupation  and  dehght ;  and  unless  that  be  so, 
they  cannot  succeed  and  prosper.  With  these  properly  attended 
to,  success  is  generally  sure.  Locality,  soil,  climate,  markets,  and 
some  other  outside  influences  may  favor  one  more  than  another, 
but  in  the  long  run,  wherever  the  farmer  fixes  his  home,  success, 
when  his  labors  are  well  directed,  is  almost  sure  to  follow. 

As  farming  is  usually  pursued,  what  occupation  with  no  more 
intelhgence  and  industry  apphed  to  it,  pays  better?  Suppose 
the  farmer  gets  a  bare  hving  for  himself  and  family — his  farm 
being  paid  for — how  many  men  in  other  occupations  can  waste, 
or  spare  the  time,  from  their  regular  occupations,  that  he  does,  and 
bring  the  year  about  as  comfortably  and  with  so  little  embarrass- 
ment? None  whatever.  Many  farmers  spend  scarcely  half 
their  time  in  steady  work  on  their  farms,  and  still  they  and  their 
families  get  through  the  year  comfortably,  after  their  own  notions 
of  comfort.    Successful  men  in  other  pursuits  are  apt  to  look  on 


510 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


the  farmer's  life  as  one  of  drudgery,  deprivation,  hardship.  If 
they  understood  the  farmer's  life  in  all  its  phases,  bearings,  and 
experiences,  their  conclusions  would  be  widely  different. 

AMATEUR  FARMING. 

Thi^re  is  another  kind  of  farming,  of  which  it  is  proper  to  speak. 
It  is  undertaken  as  a  recreation,  an  amusement,  or  a  convenience. 
It  is  followed,  generally,  by  men  who  depend  for  a  livelihood  upon 
other  pursuits,  and  their  farm  labors  are  delegated  to  subordinate 
hands  who  seldom  have  the  brain,  or  the  application  required  for 
the  best  development  of  the  soil.  There  is  seldom  much  money 
profit  in  it,  although  there  may  be  much  convenience,  pleasure, 
and  enjoyment  to  the  proprietor.  His  knowledge,  his  perse- 
verance, his  persistent  attention  is  given  to  his  own  regular 
business,  and  not  applied  to  the  cultivation  of  his  acres,  or  the 
detailed  care  of  his  stock.  He  draws  a  share  of  his  provisions, 
food,  fruits,  and  other  commodities  from  his  farm,  and  in  their 
freshness,  or  superior  quality,  he  derives  his  enjoyment.  He 
discourses  to  his  friends  of  his  triumphs  in  cultivation,  of  his 
productions,  and  enjoys  at  his  table  and  fireside,  with  them  his 
successes.  All  this  is  in  the  way  of  luxury,  over  and  above 
what  he  can  buy  in  the  markets,  or  obtain  from  his  huckster. 
He  revels  in  his  own  products,  and  takes  a  hearty  pleasure  in 
them.  He  does  not  count  the  cost,  and  so  he  obtains  what  he 
wants,  charges  the  expense  to  "profit  and  loss"  in  his  accounts, 
and  lets  the  matter  go — his  enjoyment  being  a  full  compensation 
for  the  outlay. 

Yet,  both  of  these  farmers,  the  one  who  lives  and  thrives 
solely  by  the  cultivation  of  his  land,  and  the  other  who  cultivates 
solely  for  his  own  pleasure  or  convenience,  should  be  equally  well 
instructed  in  the  science  and  principles  of  their  work — the  one 
to  make  his  daily  labors  profitable  and  easy ;  the  other  to  add  to 
his  own  pleasure,  and  set  a  good  example  to  others. 

"We  never  yet  knew  an  ignorant  man  who  was  a  good  farmer 
throughout.    Clever,  he  may  be,  in  many  things,  and  very  labo- 


USEFUL  TABLES. 


511 


rious,  but  never  achieving  success  in  a  full  round  of  farm  labors, 
or  duties.  Truly  successful  men  read,  ponder,  and  understand. 
They  are  not  great  readers  of  books  always,  but  their  minds  are 
on  their  business,  and  they  are  ever  ready  to  seek  in  books  or 
periodicals  for  information,  where  a  doubt  is  to  be  solved,  and 
they  find  no  readier  way  to  do  it.  The  amateur  is  always  a 
reader,  and  his  '^book  farming"  is  often  made  a  butt  of  ridicule 
by  many  who  are  utterly  ignorant,  or  know  much  less  of  the 
subject  than  himself  "  Every  man  who  turns  up  a  sod  in  the  way 
of  cultivating  the  earth,  should  be,  more  or  less,  a  book  farmer. 

SUNDEY  USEFUL  TABLES. 

For  convenient  reference  a  few  tables  are  given  of  various 
itemsj  which  may  much  facilitate  the  farmer  in  his  operations: 

ESTIMATE  OF  FARM  SEEDS  FOR  AN  ACRE. 


Winter  Wheat,  broadcast,  lU  to  2  bush. 
Winter  Wheat,  drilled,  1  to  1}^  bush. 


Spring  Wheat,  broadcast,  2  to  2^  bush. 
Spring  Wheat,  drilled,  IX  to  2  bush. 


The  difference  between  the  quantity  of  winter  and  spring 
wheat,  is  caused  by  the  tillering  of  the  winter  variety  into  many 
stalks  in  its  autumn  growth,  which  the  spring  sown  grain  does  to 
a  less  extent. 


Rye,  broadcast,  IX  hush. 

Rye,  drilled,  1  to  1)^  bush. 

Barley,  broadcast,  2  to  2X  t>ush. 

Barley,  drilled,  IX  to  2  bush. 

Oats,  broadcast,  2  to  3  bush. 

Oats,  drilled,  2  to  2K  bush. 

Timothy,  (always  broadcast,)  when  sown 
with  grain  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  to  be 
followed  with  clover  in  the  spring,  6  to 
8  quarts. 

Timothy,  without  clover,  12  to  16  quarts. 
Timothy,  sown  with  clover  in  the  spring, 

8  to  10  quarts. 
Red  Clover,  (broadcast,)  after  timothy  in 

the  spring,  4  to  6  quarts. 
Red  Clover,  without  other  grass,  in  the 

spring,  8  to  12  quarts. 
Herds,  or  Red  Top,  1  to  IX  hush.,  of  14 

pounds  to  the  bush. 
Lucerne,  drilled,  10  pounds. 


Blue  Grass,  1  to  IX  hush.,  of  14  pounds 

to  the  bush. 
White  Clover,  (broadcast,)  8  pounds, 

usually  sown  with  blue  grass. 
Indian  Corn,  in  hills,  small  varieties,  6 

to  8  quarts. 
Indian  Corn,  in  hills,  large  varieties,  4  to 

6  quarts. 

Sorghum,  or  Chinese  Sugar  Cane,  2  to  3 
quarts. 

Millet,  broadcast,  K  to  1  bush. 

Buckwheat,  K  to  1  bush. 

Beets  and  MangoldWurtzel,4  to  6  pounds. 

Carrots,  2  to  3  pounds. 

Turnips  and  Rutabagas,  1  pound. 

Parsnips,  4  to  6  pounds. 

Beans,  in  drills  2)^  feet  apart,  IX  bush. 

Potatoes,  in  drills.  10  to  12  bush. 

Potatoes,  in  hills,  8  to  10  bush. 


512 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


As  a  general  rule,  rich  soil  requires  one-fourth  to  one-third  less 
seed  per  acre  than  thin,  or  hght  soils,  as  the  plants  grow  stouter 
on  rich  than  on  poor  ground. 

NUMBER  OF  PLANTS  ON  AN  ACRE. 


The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  nlants  or  trees,  at 
the  distances  named  apart,  which  may  be  planted  on  an  acre. 


Distances  apart. 

No.  of  Plants. 

Distances  apart. 

No.  of  Plants. 

1    foot  by  1 

foot, 

.  43,560 

6Xfeetby 

6M  feet, 

.  1,031 

19,360 

7 

1 

888 

2  feet 

(( 

1 

.  21,780 

8 

8 

.  680 

(( 

2 

leet, 

10,890 

9 

(( 

(I 

9 

t( 

537 

" 

.  6,969 

10 

(( 

10 

.  435 

3 

(I 

1 

(1 

.  14,520 

11 

(( 

11 

3C0 

3  " 

(I 

2 

i( 

.  7,260 

12 

12 

(( 

.  302 

3  " 

ifc 

3 

i( 

4,840 

13 

.( 

13 

(( 

257 

3X  " 

(( 

(( 

.  3,555 

14 

11 

14 

(( 

.  222 

4 

(( 

1 

(( 

.  10,890 

15 

(. 

(I 

15 

193 

4  " 

2 

.  5,445 

16 

(« 

16 

.  170 

4 

(I 

3 

11 

3,630 

17 

17 

(I 

150 

4 

4 

(• 

.  2,722 

18 

18 

.  134 

4i^r  " 

2,151 

19 

(( 

l( 

19 

.1 

120 

5  " 

(I 

1 

(( 

.  9,712 

20 

(( 

11 

20 

(( 

.  108 

5  " 

(I 

2 

i( 

4,356 

25 

(I 

11 

25 

i( 

.      .  69 

5  " 

ii 

3 

11 

.  2,904 

30 

i( 

(I 

30 

(( 

.  48 

5 

(I 

4 

(fc 

2,179 

40 

40 

27 

5  " 

i( 

5 

(fc 

.  1,742 

50 

l( 

50 

.  17 

5X 

(( 

.      .  1,417 

60 

11 

60 

i( 

12 

6  " 

(( 

6 

(( 

.  1,210 

66 

4( 

U 

66 

.  10 

For  intermediate  spaces  in  the  above  numbers,  one  can  readily 
add,  subtract,  divide  or  multiply,  as  he  may  wish. 


VALUE  OF  FOOD  FOR  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS. 


The  figures  below  give  the  comparative  number  of  pounds  of 
each  substance  to  equal  in  effect  that  of  any  standard  food— as, 
for  instance,  that  of  hay. 

Good  Hay,  to  give  a  certain  nourishment,  requires 
Good  Clover  Hay  will  give  same  effect  by  the  use  of 
Rye  Straw 


Oat  Straw 
Potatoes 
Carrots 
Beets 

Ruta  Bagas 


100  pounds. 
95 
355 
220 
195 
280 
346 
262 


USEFUL  TABLES. 


513 


Wheat  will  give  same  effect  by  the  use  of 

Peas  '  " 

Beans 

Rye 

Barley 

Fndian  Corn        "  "  " 

Oats 

Buckwheat         "  "  " 

Oil  Cake 


48  pounds. 
44  " 

40  " 

49  " 
51 

56  " 

59  " 

64  " 

64  " 


CONSUMPTION  OF  HAY 

The  hay  consumed  hj  different  animals  does  not  vary  greatly 
from  three  pounds  daily  for  each  hundred  pounds  weight  of  the 
animals.  The  following  table  is  the  result  of  various  experiments 
by  different  persons,  and  will  be  useful  for  farmers  who  wish  to 
determine,  by  calculation  beforehand,  how  their  hay  will  hold  out 
for  the  winter;  500  cubic  feet  of  timothy  hay,  in  a  full  bay,  being 
about  one  ton: 


2.84  pounds. 
2.42  " 
3.00  " 
3.00  " 


Working  Horses,  3.08  pounds.  Steers, 

Working  Oxen,  2.40     "  Dry  Cows, 

Milk  Cows,  (Boussingault's)  2.25     "  Pigs,  (estimated) 

Milk  Cows,  (Lincohi's)        2.40     "  Sheep, 
Young  Growing  Cattle,       3.08  " 

All  the  articles  enumerated  in  these  food  tables  are  estimated 
as  of  good  quality.  If  the  fodder  be  of  poor  quahty,  more  must 
be  allowed. 

WEIGHT  OF  A  CUBIC  FOOT 

of  various  substances,  from  which  the  bulk  of  a  load  of  one  ton 
may  be  easily  calculated : 


Cast  Iron,    ....   450  pounds. 
Water,     ....       62  « 
White  Pine,  seasoned,  about  30  " 
White  Oak,  "     52  " 

Loose  Earth,  "     95  " 


Common  Soil, compact,  about  124  pounds, 
Clay,  "    135  " 

Clay,  with  stones,  "    160  '* 

Brick,  "    125  " 

Stone,  "    m  " 


BULK  OF  A  TON  OF  DIFFERENT  SUBSTANCES. 


23  cubic  feet  of  Sand  make  about  a  ton. 
18  cubic  feet  of  Earth  make  about  a  ton. 
17  cubic  feet  of  Clay  make  about  a  ton. 


22* 


514 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


18  cubic  feet  of  gravel  or  earth,  before  digging,  make  27  cubic 
feet  when  dug ;  or,  the  bulk  is  increased  as  three  to  two. 

TO  MEASURE  GRAIN  IN  THE  GRANARY. 

Divide  the  cubic  feet  by  56,  and  multiply  by  45,  and  the  result 
will  be  struck  measure  in  bushels. 


TO  MEASURE  CORN  IN  THE  CRIB. 

Multiply  the  length,  breadth,  and  height  together,  in  feet,  to 
obtain  the  cubic  feet ;  multiply  this  product  by  4,  and  strike  off 
the  right  figure ;  and  the  result  will  be  shelled  bushels,  nearly. 

UNITED  STATES  BUSHEL  AND  GALLON. 

The  United  States  bushel,  adopted  now  by  the  State  of  New 
York,  is  2150.40  cubic  inches.  The  gallon  231  cubic  inches. 
The  dry  measure  gallon,  or  one-eighth  of  the  bushel,  is  268.8 
cubic  inches. 

WEIGHT  OF  GRAIN. 

The  laws  of  this  State  established  the  following  weights,  avoir- 
dupois, to  the  bushel  of  the  articles  named,  in  the  absence  of  a 
specific  contract: 


Wheat, 
Indian  Corn, 
Rye,  . 


Pounds. 

.  60 

56 
.  56 


Buckwheat,   48 

Barley,   48 

Oats,   32 

Beans,   62 

Peas,   60 


Pounds. 

Timothy  Seed,    .      .      .      ,  .44 

Clover  Seed,  60 

Flaxseed,  55 

Potatoes,  •    .  60 

Dried  Apples,  22 

Dried  Peaches,       ....  32 

Salt,  56 

Onions,    .      .      .      .      .      .  51^ 


CAPACITY  OF  SOILS  FOR  WATER. 

The  following  substances  are  saturated  when  they  contain,  of 
their  own  weight, 

  about  24  per  cent,  of  water. 

Calcareous  Sand,  "    28      *'  " 

Loamy  Soil,  u     33      ti  u 

Clay  Loam,  "47      "  " 

Peat,  "    80      "  " 


USEFUL  TABLES. 


515 


VELOCITY  OF  WATER  IN  TILE  DRAINS. 

An  acre  of  land  in  a  wet  time  contains  about  1,000  spare  hogs- 
heads of  water.  An  underdrain  will  carry  off  the  water  from  a 
strip  of  land  about  2  rods  wide,  and  one  80  rods  long  will  drain 
an  acre. 

The  following  table  will  show  the  size  of  the  tile  required  to 
drain  an  acre  in  two  days'  time  (the  longest  admissible)  at  dif- 
ferent rates  of  descent,  or  the  size  for  any  larger  area 


Diameter 
of  Bore. 

2  inches, 
2  " 
2 

2  " 

3  " 

3  " 
3 

3 

4  " 

4 

4  " 


Rate 
of  Descent. 

1  foot  in  100 


1 
1 
1 
1 

1 
1 
1 
1 
1 


50 
20 
10 

100 
50 
20 
10 

100 
50 
20 


Velocity 
of  current 
per  second. 

22  inches, 

32 

51 

73 

27  " 
38  " 
67 

84  " 

32 

45 

72  " 


Hogsheads 
discliarged 
in  24  hours, 

.  400 

560 
900 
1,290 
1,170 
1,640 
3,100 
3,600 
2,500 
3,500 
5,600 


1  10    100     "        ....  t,800 

A  deduction  of  one-third  to  one-half  must  be  made  for  the 
roughness  of  the  tile  or  imperfection  in  laying.  The  drain  must 
be  of  some  length  to  give  the  water  velocity,  and  these  numbers 
do  not  therefore  apply  to  very  short  drains. 

CONTENTS  OF  CISTERNS. 

The  following  gives  the  contents  of  circular  cisterns  for  each 
foot  in  depth : 


5  feet  diameter, 


Barrels. 
.  4.66 
6.71 
.  9.13 


8  feet  diameter, 

9  " 
10  " 


Barrels. 
11.93 
15.10 
18.65 


FORCE  OF  WIND. 


The  force  exerted  by  windmills  will  vary  greatly  with  the 
velocity  of  the  wind.^  The  following  table  shows  the  pressure 
a^^ainst  a  fixed  surface;  from  the  velocity  given  in  this  table,  the 
average  velocity  of  the  sails  must  be  deducted,  and  the  remam- 
der  will  show  the  real  force  exerted : 


516 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


Veloci(y.  Pressure 
Miles  ar  hour.  in  lbs.  on  Description. 

square  ft. 

1   005    Hardly  perceptible. 

2  .....      .        .020)  ^ 

3.      ^  0^5  >  Just  perceptible. 

4      .      .  *  .      .      .      .        .089  1  _. 

5  125  y  Light  breeze. 

6  1801  ^ 

7  >■  Gentle,  pleasant  wind. 

10   500  1 

15  1 125  1  -P^^^s^^*'  hrisk  wind. 

20    2.000 ) 

25  .      :   3.125  I  Very  brisk. 

30   4.500 1 

35    6.125  f  ^*^ong,  high  wind 

40   8.000) 

45    10.125  /  ^^^^y  ^^Sh. 

50     .      .      .      .      .      .  12.500     Storm  or  tempest. 

60  .      .      .      .      .      .      .  18.000     Great  storm. 

^80    32.000  Hurricane. 

  50.000     Tornado,  tearing  up  trees  and  sweeping 

off  buildings. 


YALUE  OF  DIFFERENT  KINDS  OF  WOOD  AS  FUEL. 

The  celebrated  experiments  of  Marcus  Bull,  of  Philadelphia, 
many  years  ago  gave  the  following  results,  showing  the  amount 
required  to  throw  out  a  given  quantity  of  heat : 

Hickory,       ....   4     cords.     Pitch  Pine,  ....   9 1-7  cords. 
White  Oak,       .      .      .      4a4   "        White,      .      .      .      .      91-5  " 
Hard  Maple,  .      .      .      .6  2-3"        Anthracite  Coal,  ...  4  tons. 
Soft  Maple,       .      .      .      7 1-5   "        Bituminous  Coal,    .      .      5  " 


TEMPERATURE  FOR   THE  RISING  OF  CREAM. 

The  temperature  of  the  surrounding  air  has  a  great  effect  upon 
the  time  required  for  the  rising  of  the  cream.  Experiment  has 
demonstrated  that,  with  the  thermometer  at 


80  deg.,  all  the  cream  will  rise  in  10  hours. 


77 


12 
18 


55  deg.,  all  the  cream  will  rise  in  24  hours. 
50   "  "  36 

45   "  "  43  » 


WEIGHT  OF  HAY  IN  CUBIC  MEASURE. 


According  as  it  is  packed,  in  large  or  snlall  quantities,  and  the 
pressure  on  the  top,  hay  will  weigh  a  ton  to  400,  500,  and  even 
600  cubic  feet  of  measurement,  either  in  mows  in  barns,  or  stacks 


USEFUL  TABLES. 


517 


outside,  after  lying  two,  three,  or  more  months.  The  weight,  per 
measure,  will  also  depend  somewhat  on  the  condition  in  which  it 
is  put  up.  Late  cut  and  woody  haj  w^ill  weigh  less  than  that 
which  is  cut  green  and  in  good  season,  as  the  latter  packs  closer 
than  the  other.  Also  fine  hay,  as  red-top,  blue-grass,  white  clover, 
and  rowen,  which  packs  very  close,  will  weigh  much  heavier  to 
the  same  bulk  than  timothy,  red  clover,  orchard  grass,  &c. 


AVERAGE  COMPOSITION,   PER  GENT.  AND  PER  TON,  OP  VARIOUS 
KINDS  OF  AGRICULTURAL  PRODUCE,  ETC. 


- 

PER  CENT. 

LBS.  PER  (long)  ton. 

11 

1 

1  matter 

d  reckoned 
3  of  lime. 

1  matter 

d  reckoned 
5  of  lime. 

nre  in  dolla 
n  (2000  lbs) 

as 

nera 

o3  5 
•a -a 

S3 

nera 

i  J 

.a -a 

>> 

a  . 

>->  <n 
O  O 

a  . 

0  0 

a 

11 

otald 

otal 
(ash), 

hosph 
as  ph 

otash. 

& 
o 

Otal  d 

otal 
(ash). 

otash. 

<o 

bo 
0 

0  0 

H 

P4 

^1 

H 

Ph 

Ph 

>  8 

1.  Linseed  cake  

88.0 

7.00 

4.92 

1.65 

4.75 

1,971 

156.8 

110.2 

37.0 

106.4 

19.72 

2.  Cotton  seed  cake  

89.0 

8.00 

7.00 

3.12 

6.50 

1,994 

179.2 

156.8 

70.0 

145.6 

27.86 

3.  Rape  cake  

89.0 

8.00 

5.75 

1.76 

5.00 

1,994 

179.2 

128.8 

39.4 

112.0 

21.01 

4.  Linseed  

90.0 

4.00 

3.38 

1.37 

3.80 

2,016 

89.6 

75,7 

30.7 

85.1 

15.65 

5.  Beans  

84.0 

3.00 

2.20 

1.27 

4.00 

1.882 

67.2 

49.3 

28.4 

89.6 

15.75 

6.  Peas  

84.5 

2.40 

1.84 

0.96 

3.40 

1,893 

53.8 

41.2 

21.5 

76.2 

13.38 

7.  Tares  

84.0 

2.00 

1.63 

0.66 

4.20 

1,892 

44.8 

36.5 

14.8 

94.1 

16.75 

8.  Lentils  

88.0 

3.00 

1.89 

0.96 

4.30 

1,971 

67.2 

42.3 

21.5 

96.3 

16.51 

9.  Malt  dust  

94.0 

8.50 

5.23 

2.12 

4.20 

2,106 

190.4 

117.1 

47.5 

94.1 

18.21 

10.  Locust  beans  

85.0 

1.75 

1.25 

1,904 

39.2 

28.0 

4.81 

11.  Indian  meal  

88.0 

1.30 

i;i3 

6!35 

1.80 

1,971 

29.1 

'25'.3 

'h\s 

40.3 

6.65 

12.  Wheat  

85.0 

1.70 

1.87 

0.50 

1.80 

1,904 

38.1 

42.0 

11.2 

40.3 

7.08 

13.  Barley  

84.0 

2.20 

1.35 

0.55 

1.65 

1,882 

49.3 

30.2 

12.3 

37.0 

6.32 

14.  Malt  

95.0 

2.60 

1.60 

0.65 

1.70 

2,128 

58.2 

35.8 

14.6 

38.1 

6.65 

15.  Oats  ...   

86.0 

2.85 

1.17 

0.50 

2.00 

1,926 

63.8 

26.2 

11.2 

44.8 

7.70 

16.  Fine  pollard*  

86.0 

5.60 

6.44 

1.46 

2.60 

1,926 

125.4 

144.2 

32.7 

58.2 

13.53 

17.  Coarse  pollard  t  

86.0 

6.20 

7.52 

1.49 

2.58 

1,926 

138.9 

168.4 

33.4 

57.8 

14.36 

18.  Wheat  bran  

86.0 

6.60 

7.95 

1.45 

2.55 

1.926 

147.8 

178.1 

32.5 

57.1 

14.59 

19.  Clover  hay  

84.0 

7.50 

1.25 

1.30 

2.50 

i;882 

168.0 

28.0 

29.1 

56.0 

9.64 

20.  Meadow  hay  

84.0 

6.00 

0.88 

1.50 

1.50 

1,882 

134.4 

19.7 

33.6 

33.6 

6.43 

21.  Bean  straw  

82.5 

5.55 

0.90 

1.11 

0.90 

1,848 

124.3 

20.2 

24.9 

20.2 

3.87 

22.  Pea  straw  

82.0 

5.95 

0.85 

0.89 

1,837 

133.3 

19.0 

19.9 

20.2 

3.74 

23.  Wheat  straw  

84.0 

5.00 

0.55 

0.65 

oieo 

1,882 

112.0 

12.3 

14.6 

13.4 

2.68 

24.  Barley  straw  

85  0 

4.50 

0.37 

0.63 

0.50 

1,904 

100.8 

8.3 

14.1 

11.2 

2.25 

25.  Oat  straw  

83.0 

5.50 

0.48 

0.93 

0.60 

1,859 

123.2 

10.7 

20.8 

13.4 

2.90 

26.  Mangold  wurtzel  . 

12.5 

1.00 

0.09 

0.25 

0.25 

280 

22.4 

2.0 

5.6 

5.6 

1.07 

27.  Swedish  turnips  

11.0 

.68 

0.13 

0.18 

0.22 

246 

13.4 

2.9 

4.0 

4.6 

91 

28.  Common  turnips  

8.0 

.68 

0.11 

0.29 

0.18 

179 

15.2 

2.5 

6.5 

4.0 

86 

29.  Potatoes  

24.0 

1.00 

0.32 

0.43 

0.35 

537 

22.4 

7.2 

9.6 

7.8 

1.50 

30.  Carrots  

13.5 

.70 

0.13 

0.23 

0.20 

302 

15.7 

2.9 

5.1 

4.5 

86 

31.  Parsnips  

15.0 

1.00 

0.42 

0.36 

0.22 

336 

22.4 

9.4 

8.1 

4.9 

1.14 

*  Middlings,  Canielle.  t  Shipstuff. 


518 


AMERICAN  AGRICULTURE. 


The  foregoing  table,  showing  the  composition  of  various  foods 
and  the  estimated  value  of  the  manure  made  by  animals  consuming 
a  ton  of  them,  was  prepared  by  John  B.  Lawes,  of  Rothamstead. 
The  composition  of  the  foods  is  undoubtedly  correct;  the  esti- 
mated money  value  must  be  taken  only  relatively.  The  figures 
given  are  in  gold,  and  are  based  on  Enghsh  prices  of  guano  and 
other  commercial  manures.  New  York  prices  are  from  one- 
quarter  to  one-third  higher. 

It  will  be  seen  that  cotton  seed  cake  makes  the  richest  manure 
of  any  food  in  the  list.  Linseed  oil-cake,  peas,  beans,  malt  dust, 
and  bran,  are  among  the  most  valuable  foods.  Coarse  bran  is 
frequently  sold  at  a  price  that  would  make  it,  after  deducting  the 
value  of  the  manure,  one  of  the  most  profitable  foods  to  purchase. 
Clover  hay  stands  high  in  the  fist. 


INDEX. 


Agriculture,  defined.   14 

national  board  of,  required   16 

Agricultural  Education  demanded. . .  11 

Alluvial  soils,  how  formed  and  treated  30 

Ammonia,  how  formed  and  combined  67 

Animals,  domestic   344 

See  Cattle,  Sheep,  etc. 

Apples,  situation  and  soil  for   210 

planting  trees   211 

cultivation  of   213 

pruning   214 

grafting  and  budding   215 

selection  of  trees   216 

gathering  and  preserving..   217 

for  farm  stock  and  value  of   218 

best  varieties  of  219—221 

Apricots,  cultivation  of   232 

Arboriculture,  defined   14 

Artichoke,  the  Jerusalem   206 

its  value,  product  and  cultivation  207 

Arundo  grass,  described   118 

Ashes  as  manure   44 

defined   44 

from  various  vegetables   45 

quantity  required  per  acre   46 

applied  to  meadows   47 

coal,  for  manure   47 

from  sea-weeds  or  marine  plants  47 

peat,  how  used  on  soils   48 

See  Soils  and  various  crops. 

Ass,  The...;  460—463 

varieties  and  characteristics   460 

breeding  in  the  United  States. . .  461 

as  a  beast  of  burthen   462 

Barberry   239 

Barley,  varieties  of   160 

soil  and  cultivation   161 

harvesting  and  uses  of   161 

ashes  analyzed   45 


Barren  soils  made  fertile   306 

Beans,  nutritive  value  of   181 

soil  and  cultivation  181 

harvesting   182 

varieties  of  the  English  field  183 

ash  of,  analyzed   45 

Bees,  honey    497 

Beets,  varieties  of   204 

cultivation  of  204 

harvesting  and  uses   205 

analysis   205 

Birds,  utility  to  the  farmer  311 

Bermuda  grass.   116 

Blackberries  237 

Blood,  as  manure   79 

Blue  grass,  (erroneously  called)   114 

described   114 

comparative  value  and  descrip- 
tion of   114 

Bokhara  clover,  or  sweet-scented. . .  137 

Bones,  analyzed   55 

used  as  manure   56 

Breeding,  defined   14 

principles  of   345 

Bricks,  broken,  for  manure   59 

Broom-corn,  soil  and  manure  242 

cultivation  and  harvesting   243 

value  and  uses   244 

Buckwheat,  cultivation  and  uses   178 

Buildings  for  the  farm   332 

farm-house   332 

barn   334 

sheds   336 

carriage-houses,  granary,  etc  338 

materials  for  building  341 

Butter.   See  Dairy. 

Button-wood  trees,  for  shade  322 

Bushel,  in  measurement ,   514 

Calcareous  soils   24 


.520 


INDEX, 


Canada  thistle,  how  extirpated   305 

Carbon,  described  •   65 

Carbonic  acid,  uses   65 

Carrots,  ash,  analyzed   45 

soil  and  varieties   201 

harvesting  and  uses   202 

Castor  bean   296 

Cattle,  neat  or  horned   363 

various  domestic  breeds  ,  363 

native  cattle   364 

Devons   364 

Short-horns   369 

Herefords   366 

Ayi'shire  367 

Polled,  or  Galloway   368 

Alderney   370 

Dutch,  or  Holsteins   371 

management  of  calve^.   371 

breeding  cattle  374 

breaking  steers   374 

management  of  oxen  375 

fattening  and  stall-feeding   376 

Diseases  of  Animals   498 

prevention  499 

Charcoal,  as  manure   60 

Cheese.    See  Dairy. 

Chemical,  defined   27 

Cherries,  cultivation  and  varieties..  229 

Chlorine,  combined  with  soda   57 

Churns.    See  Dairy. 

Cider,  to  make  221,  226 

Cisterns,  construction  337 

contents  of   515 

Clay,  useful  to  sandy  soils   28 

Clay  soils,  defined   22 

character  and  treatment   23 

Clod  crusher   108 

Clover,  red  and  white,  ashes  of,  ana- 
lyzed   45 

for  green  manure  50,  83 

common  red  128,  129 

value  and  description  128,  129 

cultivation  128, 129 

growth  promoted   129 

time  for  cutting  and  curing  130 

management  of  fields   131 

importance  of   132 

harvesting  the  seed   134 

southern  clover  :   135 

white  creeping  clover   135 


yellow,  hop-trefoil  or  shamrock  136 


Clover,  crimson  or  scarlet  136 

Bokhara  or  sweet-scented   137 

Cock's-foot,  or  orchard  grass   113 

Conclusion   508 

Comparative  value  of  oxen  and  horses  472 

Corn,  Indian   166 

quality  raised  in  United  States. .  166 

varieties  of   167 

analysis  of   167 

soil  and  cultivation   168 

selection  of  seed   169 

planting   169 

harvesting   170 

for  soiling   171 

uses  of  corn   172 

Cotton,  its  value   256 

climate  and  soil   257 

harvesting   258 

topping  260 

Sea-Island   260 

Cotton-seed,  for  food   264 

Cow-pea,  as  a  fertilizer.   84 

cultivation  and  value   84 

Cows.   See  Cattle. 

Cranberry,  soil  and  cultivation  240 

Cream,  temperature  of  516 

Cultivator,  how  used   108 

Currants,  cultivation   235 

Dairy,  the  379 

selection  and  management  of 

cows  380 

milking   380 

properties  of  milk   381 

variations  in   382 

cream   384 

Butter  making,  from  sour,  sweet 

and  clouted  cream   385 

from  the  whole  milk   385 

sourness  of  cream   385 

quickness  in  churning   386 

over  churning   386 

temperature  of  milk  and  cream . .  386 
advantages  of  chui-ning  the  whole  386 

cleanliness  in  churning  386 

premium  butter,  how  made  387 

Orange  county,  how  made   388 

Cheese  making,  how  affected  389 

creamed  and  uncreamed   389 

butter-milk  cheese   390 

whey  cheese   391 

vegetable  substances  added  391 


INDEX. 


521 


Dairy  the,  Cheese  making,  prepara- 
tion of  rennet   391 

different  qualities  of  cheese  393 

warming  the  milk   394 

quality  of  rennet  394 

quantity  of  rennet   394 

treatment  of  curd     395 

separation  of  whey  395 

cheese,  salting   395 

addition  of  cream  395 

size  of  cheese  396 

mode  of  curing  396 

Dew-point,  when  attained   37 

Diseases.   See  Cattle,  Sheep,  etc. 

Draining  (under)  clay  lands   95 

manner  of,  and  improvements  in  95 

great  advantages  of   96 

spring  and  swamp  described   99 

Drill-barrow,  how  made  and  used. . .  109 

Ducks   496 

Education  of  the  farmer   330 

should  be  provided  for  by  the 
National  and  State  Legisla- 
tures   17 

Elm  trees  for  shade  321 

Ergot  or  Cockspur  of  cereals  and  its 

effects  described   159 

Experiments  should  be  made  among 

farmers   310 

Fallow  system  described   89 

Farm  roads   319 

implements.   See  Tools, 
buildings.   See  Buildings. 

Feeding  defined   13 

Feldspar  analyzed   61 

useful  as  manure   61 

Fences   313 

various  kinds,  manner  of  con- 
structing .  314-317 

Fescue   grass,   the   tall,  meadow, 

sheep,  etc   113 

Fiorin  grass   115 

Fish  for  manure   80 

how  managed   80 

Flax,  soil   244 

cultivation,  harvesting  and  man- 
agement of  245 

value  of  and  varieties   ...  246 

Flesh  as  manure   79 

Food,  comparative  nutritive  quali- 
ties of  356,  512 


Food,  how  given, purposes  fulfiUed  by 

it  350,  351 

changes  in   359 

Friableness  of  soils  important   36 

Frogs,  their  utility    312 

Fruits  209-241 

Fuel,  value  of  different  kinds   516 

Gas  lime   54 

Gama  grass   116 

Glass,  broken,  analyzed   60 

as  a  manure   61 

Geese   494 

General  remarks   508 

Gooseberries,  cultivation,  etc  235 

Grain  and  its  cultivation  142-150 

Grama  grass   117 

Granite,  Sienite,  etc.,  as  manures —  61 

Grapes,  soil  and  cultivation   233 

varieties  of   234 

Grasses,  ash  analyzed   45 

defined  111-119 

various  kinds  111-119 

number  in  England   Ill 

number  in  America   Ill 

value  of  natural  in  United  States  119 
order  of  nutrition  and  value .  120,  121 

seeds,  sowing   122 

lands....   123 

time  for  cutting  and  curing   126 

Gravelly  soils,  how  treated   29 

Grain,  weight  of   514 

Grazing,  defined   13 

Green  crops  for  manures   82 

advantages  of —   82 

Green-grass,  smooth-stalked  mead- 
ow, spear  or  June   114 

Guano,  its  localities,  etc   62 

analyzed,  how  used   63 

Guinea-hen   494 

Gypsum,  defined   54 

as  a  manure   54 

Hair,  hoofs,  etc.,.  as  manure   79 

Harrows   106 

Harrowing,  how  done   106 

Haytedder  or  spreader   127 

Hay,  consumption  of   513 

Hay,  weight  in  measure  516 

Hedges,  from  shrubs   317 

Hemp,  soil  for   247 

cultivation  and  cutting   248 

drying  and  ricking   249 


522 


INDEX. 


Hemp,  dew-rotting  251 

shocking  and  breaking   251 

water-rotting   252 

raising  the  seed  253 

Hens.   See  Poultry. 

Hen-houses  343,  489 

Herds-grass,  red-top  or  foul  meadow.  112 
Hinny.   See  Ass. 
Hogs.   See  Swine. 

Holy-grass,  or  sweet-scented  soft. .. .  122 

Hops,  soil  and  cultivation  291 

harvesting  and  curing  293 

diseases  in   296 

Horse  rake   128 

Horse  hay  fork   128 

Horse,  the  444 

the  Arabian  and  Barb   445 

the  English   446 

American   447 

Arabians  in  America  445 

Bussorah  446 

Narraganset  pacers  446 

Messenger,  imported  448 

Morgan  horses   449 

Canadian  and  Spanish   450 

.Conestoga  and  Norman  451 

Cart,  Cleveland  bay,  Belfounder.  451 

Eclipse,  American  448 

points  of  452 

habits  453 

breeding  454 

management  of  colts  455 

breaking   456 

longevity,  feeding   457 

Diseases   506 

Horse-power   339 

Horticulture,  defined   14 

Hydrogen  described   67 

its  uses  for  vegetation   67 

Ice  houses   343 

Implements.  See  Tools. 
Indian  Corn.   See  Corn. 

Indigo,  cultivation  of   277 

Introduction   13 

Irrigated  lands,  value  of   90 

Irrigation,  where  necessary  90,  91 

water,  best  for   92 

time  for  applying   93 

manner  and  utility  of   93 

quality  of  grass  from   93 

soils  suited  to   93 


Leguminous  plants  179-184 

Lightning  rods   341 

materials  for,  construction   342 

Lime  48,  53 

See  Soils,  etc. 

Loamy  soils  defined   23 

how  treated   23 

Locust  trees  for  shade   322 

Lucern,  ashes  analyzed   45 

value  of   136 

cultivation   136 

Lupine,  as  a  fertilizer   85 

Lye,  as  manure   62 

Madder,  its  uses,  soil,  etc   279 

harvesting  and  preparation   281 

value  of   283 

Magnesian  lime  defined   51 

Manures  defined  «   41 

described   41 

ingredients   42 

ashes   44 

table  of  ashes   45 

value  and  application  of  ashes ...  46 

for  meadow  lands   47 

coal-ashes  and  sea-weed  ash   47 

peat,  ashes   48 

great  value  of  lime   48 

application  of  lime   51 

marls   52 

shell-sand   53 

green  sand  marl   53 

bones   55 

phosphate  of  lime   56 

sulphates,  the   58 

saltpetre  and  nitrate  of  soda   58 

carbonates,  nitrates,  sulphates, 

etc   59 

old  plaster,  broken  brick   59 

charcoal   60 

mica,  feldspar,  lava,  etc   61 

spent-lye   62 

ammoniacal  liquor   62 

guano   62 

analyzed,  how  applied   63 

soot   64 

organic  manures,  constituents  of,  65 

various  kinds,  management  of. . .  65 

barn-yard  manures  .  69 

important  to  preserve  from  waste  C9 

long  and  short  70 

decomposition  of   73 


INDEX. 


523 


Manures,  liquid,  how  saved   72 

applied  to  the  muck-heap   73 

value  of   75 

analysis  of  urine   75 

solid  evacuations   75 

poudrette,  urate,  night-soil   77 

urine,  urea,  treatment  of  night- 
soil   78 

excrements  of  fowls   79 

sea-'^eed,  peat   81 

manuring,  with  green  crops   82 

clover,  cow-pea,  spurry,  etc..  83,  85 
advantages  of  green  manures ....  85 

application  of   86-89 

fallow-system,  the   89 

Maple  sugar.   See  Sugar. 

Maple  trees  for  shade   321 

Marls  for  manure,  defined   52 

how  analyzed   53 

green  sand  described   53 

Marly  soils  defined   24 

how  treated   24 

Meadows,  preparation  of   122 

means  of  renovating   124 

management  of   125 

Meadow  grasses   111-119 

Measurement  of  grain   514 

corn  in  crib   514 

Mica,  composition  of   61 

useful  as  manure   61 

Milk.   See  Dairy. 

Millet,  character  and  production  of. .  177 
cultivatioH  of   177 

Mowing  machines   127 

Mule,  the   463 

rearing  and  management   464 

advantages  over  horse  labor .  ...  465 

valuable  qualities   466 

enduringness  of   468 

economy  of  mule  labor  471 

Mustard,  varieties  and  product  of. . .  290 
value  for  feeding  290 

Nectarine,  cultivation   232 

Night-soil,  analyzed   77 

how  treated  and  applied   78 

Nitrate  of  potash.   See  Saltpetre. 

Nitrate  of  soda  analyzed   58 

for  manure   58 

Nitric  acid,  composition   68 

how  formed   68 

Nitrogen,  described   68 


Nitrogen,  necessary  for  vegetables . .  68 
Nutritive  qualities  of  diff'erent  kinds 


of  forage  207,  208 

Oak  trees,  for  shade   322 

Oats,  ashes  analyzed   45 

cultivation  164 

varieties  of   162 

harvesting   165 

uses  and  analysis  165 

Oat  grass   115 

Oleine,  how  obtained   484 

Orchard  or  Cock's-foot  grass   113 

Oxen   375 

Oxygen,  its  uses   6^ 

Parsnip,  soil  and  cultivation  202 

harvesting  and  uses   203 

ash  of,  analyzed   45 

Pastures,  importance  and  manage- 
ment of.....  124,  138 

Peaches,  where  grown   231 

soil,  value  and  diseases  232 

varieties   232 

Peacock.   See  Poultry. 
Peanut.    See  Pinda. 

Pears,  cultivation  of   226 

diseases  in  trees   227 

gathering  and  preserving,  varie- 
ties 227,  228 

Peas,  soils,  varieties,  cultivation  179 

ash  of,  analyzed   45 

cow-pea  as  a  fertilizer   180 

cultivation  and  value  of  181 

the  ground  pea.   See  Pinda. 

Peat  used  for  manure   81 

Peaty  soils  defined   31 

described   31 

cultivation  of   31 

Perspiration   352 

Phosphate  of  lime  for  manure   56 

Phosphorite,  a  species  of  above   56 

Pig  styes   343 

Pinda,  cultivation  of   184 

Planting,  defined     14 

plants  for  an  acre  512 

Plaster  of  Paris.   See  Gypsum. 

Plaster,  old,  useful  for  manure   59 

Plowing  clay  lands     101 

sandy  soils,  depth  of   103 

cross-plowing  ,   104 

subsoil   104 

Plows,  various  kinds  of   105 


524 


INDEX. 


Plow  shovel,  described,  when  and 


how  used   109 

Plums,  cultivation  of   230 

diseases  and  varieties  ^  230 

Potato  ash,  analyzed   45 

its  origin,  varieties  of   185 

selection  of  seed   186 

planting  and  cultivation  187,  188 

harvesting,  storing,  diseases .  188,  189 

preventives  of  rot   189 

arresting  rot,  uses  190,  191 

Potato,  the  sweet,  soil,  cultivation..  192 

varieties   192 

Poudrette  described   77 

Poultry.:   486 

their  value  486 

Hens,  constituent  of  eggs  486 

general  management   488 

the  poultry-house   489 

general  arrangements  and  rearing  489 

varieties   490 

diseases   490 

gapes  or  pip,  roup  or  catarrh  491 

flux,  costiveness,  vermin  491 

Turkey,  the   492 

breeding,  rearing  and  manage- 
ment  493 

Peacock,  the   493 

Goose,  the  ;  494 

varieties,  breeding  494 

feeding  and  food   495 

Ducks   496 

feeding,  varieties   496 

breeding  and  rearing   496 

Power,  horse   339 

Prairie  grasses  described   118 

management  of  sheep,  on  441 

Profit  in  feeding   360 

Quinces,  cultivation  of   228 

Raspberries,  cultivation  and  varie- 
ties  236 

Red-top  grass   115 

Rennet.   See  Dairy. 

Respiration  349-352 

Ribbon-grass   116 

Rice,  its  importance   172 

varieties  and  cultivation   173 

value  of  the  crop   173 

necessity  of  water  for   173 

Rollers,  how  and  when  used   1G7 

manner  of  constructing   107  j 


Rotation  on  grass  lands   126 

of  crops,  when  introduced   297 

its  importance   298 

in  natural  meadows   299 

in  forest  trees  299 

system  of   301 

Rye,  ash  of  analyzed   45 

cultivation  of   157 

peculiar  aroma  in   157 

soil  and  cultivation   157 

preparation  of  soil   158 

sowing  and  cultivation   158 

diseases  in,  for  soiling   159 

Rye-grasses,  varieties  of   115 

Sainfoin,  ash  analyzed   45 

description  and  value  of   137 

cultivation  of   137 

Salt  as  manure   57 

Saltpetre  analyzed   58 

for  manure  and  steeps   58 

Sand  useful  to  clay  soils   26 

Sandy  loams  defined   23 

their  treatment  improved  by  the 

roller   29 

Sea-weed  for  manure   81 

Seeds  for  an  acre   511 

Shade-trees.   See  Trees. 

Sheep,  the  398-442 

uses  of.   399 

varieties  of  wild   401 

domesticated   402 

native  403 

The  Merino  •   404-419 

history  of   404 

exportation  from  Spain  406 

importation  into  the  U.  States. . .  407 

varieties  of   408 

Silesian  413 

the  Rambouillet   411 

history  of  Merino  in  U.  States. . .  413 

improvements  of   414 

peculiarities  of   415 

breeding  416 

localities  for  rearing  418 

Saxony  Merinos   419 

The  South-Down  421 

The  Shropshire-Down   423 

The  Long  wools   423 

improvement  by  Bakewell   424 

improvement  of  Gotswold  and 
Lincoln   425 


INDEX. 


525 


Sheep,  the,  peculiarities  of  the  Long 

Wools   426 

importation  into  the  U.  States...  426 

breeding  sheep  ..427 

Winter  management   430 

sheep  barns  and  sheds   430 

racks,  mangers,  and  troughs  —  431 

food  432 

management  of  ewes,  yeaning. . .  433 

management  of  lambs  434 

castrating  and  docking  435 

tagging  or  clotting  436 

Summer  management  and  food —  436 

washing  437 

shearing   438 

smearing  and  salving  439 

weaning  440 

drafting,  stall  feeding  441 

management  on  the  prairies  441 

Diseases  of  Sheep   502 

Shepherd  dogs   443 

Shell-sand  for  manure   53 

Shovel-plows,  how  used   109 

Silicate  of  potash  and  soda   59 

Soda  ash  described   58 

Sodium  described   57 

Soils  described  21-40 

origin  and  texture   21 

divisions  of   22 

description  of  varieties   23 

how  examined   25 

ingredients  necessary  to  them  —  25 
clays,  characteristics  and  man- 
agement •  25 

gravelly,  their  management   29 

loamy,  marly,  calcareous,  allu- 
vial, peaty   30 

effect  of  cultivation  upon   84 

additional  properties  of   35 

attraction  and  capacity  for  water  38 

various  fertile,  analyzed   39 

much  lime  in  fertile   40 

changes  in   40 

Soot  as  manure   64 

Sorghum  268-270 

Spading,  advantages  of   101 

Spader-wheel   109 

Spurry  as  a  fertilizer   84 

cultivation  of   84 

Steaming  apparatus,  advantages  of. .  339 
how  constructed   340 


Stearine  and  oleine,  how  obtained 

and  used   484 

Strawberry,  cultivation,  varieties. . .  238 
Subsoil  plow,  useful  for  drained 

lands   104 

Subsoils  and  their  management   32 

advantages  of  plowing   33 

Sulphate  of  lime.   See  Gypsum. 

Sulphate  of  soda  for  manure   58 

Sulphate  of  magnesia,  potash   58 

Sugar  cane,  its  product  in  the  XJ.  S.  264 

cultivation   265 

harvesting.   266 

analysis  and  fattening  properties 

of   267 

varieties  of  cane   267 

cane  coverer   267 

Maple  Sugar,  its  production  ...  270 

region  where  made  270 

process  of  making   272 

Sumach,  varieties  described   288 

cultivation,  harvesting,  uses   288 

Superphosphate  of  lime   60 

Swine  476-485 

where  profitable   477 

various  breeds   477 

breeding  and  rearing   479 

rearing    and    fattening,  large 

weights   480 

economy  of  early  fattening  481 

treatment  of  food   482 

products  of  the  carcass  484 

lard  oil,  how  made    484 

stearine  and  oleine  484 

curing  pork  and  hams  484 

Diseases  of  Swine   502 

Table  of  analysis  of  various  soils. .  39,  40 

ash  of  plants    45 

of  grasses,  their  characteristics 

and  value  120,  121 

•    explanation  of  nutritive  equiva- 
lents   208 

nutritive  qualities  of  food  and 

forage   208 

exhaustion  of  saline  manures  by 

crops   298 

loss  by  respiration,  evacuations, 

perspiration  in  animals   351 

principles  contained  in  various 

animal  food  359 

Tanks  for  holding  liquid  manure ....  72 


526 


INDEX, 


Tanks,  how  constructed  and  managed  72 

Tares,  cultivation  and  value  of   183 

Teasels,  uses,  cultivation  of  289 

Terra-cultor   109 

Tillage  husbandry,  defined   13 

Timber,  best  time  for  cutting  328 

preparation  and  preserving  329 

Timothy  grass,  described   112 

cultivation  and  value   112 

Toads,  their  utility  312 

Tobacco,  where  cultivated   274 

soil  and  cultivation   275 

priming,  topping,  harvesting  275 

quality, 'analysis,  value  of  276 

Tools,  farming,  how  made,  etc. : . . . .  329 

Tool-house,  work-shop,  etc.  338 

Trap-rocks,  valuable  soils   61 

useful  as  manure   61 

Trees  for  shade,  their  value  319,  320 

their  proper  position  320 

various  kinds  used  321 

forest,  how  managed   323 

cutting,  best  time  for  324 

TuU's  theory   35 

Ton,  bulk  required  of  different  sub- 
stances 513 

Turnips,  ashes  of,  analyzed   45 

soil  and  cultivation   196 

ruta-bagas,  cultivation  of   197 

enemies  and  treatment   198 

harvesting  and  storing   199 

feeding  value,  varieties  of. .  .199,  200 
Turkeys.   See  Poultry. 

Tussac  grass,  described   us 

Under-draining.   See  Draining. 

Urate  described,  its  uses   77 

Urea  analyzed  _  73 

Urine  of  various  animals  analyzed. .  78 

human,  analyzed   78 

Vegetable  molds  described   24 

Vernal  grass,  sweet  scented   115 


Vetches.   See  Tares. 

Vinegar,  to  make. . .    226 

Wahaut  tree,  the  black  for  shade. ...  321 

Water,  suited  to  irrigation .   92 

its  uses  for   92 

rain,  contains  nutritious  gases  , .  92 

in  soils   

its  flow  in  the  drains  515 

for  cattle  yards  337 

Weeds,  destroying  in  grain  303 

defined,  how  avoided   304 

Weld,  description  and  cultivation  of  286 

Weight  of  different  substances  513 

Wheat,  ash  of,  analyzed   45 

cultivation  of, winter  and  spring, 

how  produced   142 

analysis  of,  value  of  American..  143 
preparation  of  ground  and  ma- 
nures for   144 

selection  and  preparation  of  seed  145 
sowing  and  after  culture. . . .  146,  147 

enemies  of  wheat   147 

smut  described  and  prevented. . .  149 

rust,  how  treated   149 

time  of  harvesting,  threshing, 

stacking  150,  151 

value  of  straw  and  chaff   152 

varieties  of  seed   152 

production  of  new  varieties. .. .  155 
management  of  spring  and  varie- 
ties  155 

Willow,  the  weeping,  for  shade  321 

Wind,  force  of  :  515 

Woad,  uses,  soil  and  cultivation....  283 

gathering  and  preparation  284 

description  and  cultivation  284 

Wood-lands,  how  managed  323 

profits  of   323 

lands  that  should  remain  in  wood  324 
Woolen  rags  and  waste  as  manure. .  79 
Worn  out  soils  restored   306 


1 


( 


